CHICAGO — Farragut Academy will host a memorial for slain former basketball star Michael Wright on Thursday night.
The memorial will take place from 6-8 p.m. at the high school, 2345 S. Christiana Ave., where Wright became a hoops superstar before a longtime pro career overseas.
Thursday would have been Wright's 36th birthday.
"The school is still in shock," Farragut athletic director Linda Ruiz said.
Ruiz said several of Wright's family members, including his mother and uncle, will speak Thursday. His high school coach, William "Wolf" Nelson, also will talk.
Wright was found dead inside his Lexus SUV in Brooklyn at roughly 11 a.m. Nov. 10. The car had been there for several days, police sources told DNAinfo New York.
Police initially believed Wright had committed suicide because a plastic bag was found partially covering his head, sources said.
But detectives determined that he had a severe head wound that likely came from a blow to his head, sources said. Detectives are also investigating whether he was killed by someone he met on the gay dating app Grindr, which was open in his phone.
“We are treating the death as a homicide, pending a determination of the medical examiner,” a police source told DNAinfo New York in November.
There were no updates in the case as of Wednesday afternoon.
As a freshman, Wright played with Ronnie Fields and Kevin Garnett on the same legendary Farragut squad. Garnett would go on to a superstar NBA career, while a car accident derailed Fields' career, and he never reached the NBA. Wright was a standout at Arizona before he was drafted by the Knicks in 2001. He played on several overseas teams, including clubs in France, Israel and Poland.
"I can't even believe it," Fields said in November. "I just feel empty right now about the situation that happened to him. This is a real sick time for me."
Ruiz said she's waiting to hear back from Fields and Garnett on whether they'll attend.
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