April 1, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - Former St. John's women's basketball standout Kia Wright has been invited to participate in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Pre-Draft Camp to be held at the University of Tampa on April 4-5. Wright is the first St. John's player coached by Kim Barnes Arico to ever be invited to the event.

"It's wonderful for our program and for Kia to be invited to the WNBA Pre-Draft Camp," said Barnes Arico. "It says a lot about her as a player and how far our program has come. She's a tremendous basketball player and I hope she shows off her skills this weekend because I think she'll be a wonderful player in the WNBA."

Wright recently helped lead the Red Storm to its fifth-straight BIG EAST Tournament appearance and to a quarterfinal appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. She has made two WNIT appearances and carried the team to an NCAA berth in 2006, the Red Storm's first in over 17 years. She averaged 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season and was selected to the All-BIG EAST second team for her efforts.

The Copiague, N.Y., native finishes her illustrious career at St. John's ranked in 11 career categories, including finishing fourth on the all-time scoring list with 1,536 points, while holding the free throw record of 437. In addition, she is the only player in Red Storm history to record over 1,500 points and 400 assists.

The pre-draft camp brings the top women's basketball prospects from around the world so they can showcase their skills for coaches and general managers from every WNBA team. The 2008 WNBA Draft presented by adidas will be held on Wednesday, April 9, as a conclusion to the week-long celebration of events surrounding women's basketball. The draft will begin at 1 p.m. ET and be televised live on ESPN2. The Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla., is owned by Washington Mystics President and Managing Partner Sheila Johnson and will host the draft.

This year's draft will mark the third time that the WNBA has held its annual event in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four. The WNBA Draft was held in Cleveland last year, while in 2006 it took place in Boston. In previous years, the event was held at NBA TV studios in New Jersey, while prior pre-draft camps were conducted in either the metropolitan New York or Chicago areas.