Never mind the disappointment of falling from a projected top-10 pick in the NBA draft and still being around when the New Orleans Hornets picked 13th.

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Kansas forward Julian Wright (30) stuffs the ball against Kansas State in the first half of their semifinal basketball game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament in Oklahoma City, in this March 10, 2007 file photo.

Julian Wright, 20, is happy he was still alive beyond age 10.

The Chicago native nearly drowned in a swimming pool as a child. He had to be revived after being pulled from the water unconscious by a relative. The story made a local newspaper and Wright still has the clipping chronicling the horrific moment he reflects upon every time he reaches a milestone in his life, whether it be high school graduation or his new status as a pro athlete and millionaire-to-be.

"I kind of just thought about how far I've come as a person," Wright said Friday, when the Hornets formally introduced their latest first-round pick to a crowd of jubilant children at an inner city YMCA.

"I'd be a fool to like, not be grateful, playing basketball and just being a positive influence, things like that," Wright continued. "When things like (the near drowning) happen in life, it kind of gives you a different perspective. I think that's what's helped me in terms of being a little more mature than maybe most rookies would. Nothing's promised. You've got to make the most of your abilities and talents when you're able to."

As for Wright's path to pro basketball, that began well before he was 10. His mother, Gina Wright, recalled picking up from behind furniture and curtains so many makeshift balls her youngest of two sons made by bunching up socks or tinfoil.

Wright's father, Paul Vinson, had played basketball in college at the Illinois Institute of Technology, so Wright had someone to learn from at an early age and was a standout by his freshman year in high school.

He comes to the Hornets having averaged 12 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season for the Kansas Jayhawks.

While those numbers are hardly extraordinary, Wright's court sense, 6-foot-8 frame, ball-handling skill and passing ability give him tremendous potential to develop into an NBA star, said Hornets general manager Jeff Bower and coach Byron Scott.

"You're talking about a 6-8 guy who's extremely athletic, that can play multiple positions and defend multiple positions -- very unselfish," Scott said. "The only downside with Julian is his shooting. ... Obviously, we're going to work with his shot and make it better."

Wright said he is thrilled to come to New Orleans for professional and personal reasons. He's eager to play with point guard Chris Paul and a team that, if healthy, should contend for the playoffs next season. He also cherishes the chance to play a role in the rebuilding of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.

"I've always followed what's happened with Hurricane Katrina and I've really been sympathetic," Wright said to the crowd that welcomed him. "Now I feel like I can really become a part of it and become a positive influence in the community."

Wright, who was in New York for the draft Thursday night, flew into New Orleans on Friday morning with his agent, mother and brother. Team officials picked them up in a limousine and took them to Dickie Brennan's steak house in the French Quarter for lunch, then to the team's headquarters in a downtown high rise before the appearance at a YMCA gymnasium that had been damaged by fire before Katrina and rebuilt since.

The locally popular Rebirth Brass Band played "Georgia Brown," the Harlem Globetrotters adopted anthem, while Wright entered the gym to the screams of children lining the entrance and extending their hands for high fives.

The rookie was headed back home to Chicago on Friday night and soon will head to Las Vegas for the NBA's summer league.

Gina Wright, a college graduate who raised her two boys as a single mother while working her way up to management positions in marketing and graphic design, said she will move to New Orleans with both of her sons.

"He's my baby," she said, adding that she is also a music lover who is eager to dive into New Orleans' music scene and is already dreaming of visiting the gospel tent at next year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Gina Wright said she raised her sons on "old school" R&B and gospel, adding that Julian Wright has a singing voice reminiscent of R&B singer and pianist John Legend.

The new Hornet also writes poetry, his mother said, and probably would be in the music business if he didn't play basketball.

Player and mother were beaming as they mingled with the crowd, and Gina Wright found it fitting that her son had mentioned his near death while reflecting on his path to the NBA.

"It was horrible in terms of what could have happened, but it was a miracle when you look at what didn't happen," she said. "We look at the miracle aspect of it."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)