By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The nickname is what catches everyone’s attention at first.

But new Iowa guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright will also get attention for her quickness, which is why she chose the Hawkeyes when she entered the NCAA transfer portal after one season at Georgia Tech.

“Playing style was definitely a big factor,” Wright said earlier this week. “And the reason why I came here? I just like to play fast, especially with my speed and quickness, that’s something that I like.”

At 5-foot-4, the sophomore knows how to wind her way through opposing defenses — she averaged 7.2 points with 10 double-figure games last season, and she was second on the Yellow Jackets with 86 assists.

Wright wants to build on that this season with the Hawkeyes.

“Just keep it rolling,” she said. “The things that I did at Georgia Tech, just kind of bring it over here, but also incorporating the way that they play as well.”

It didn’t take long for Wright to choose Iowa. She grew up in Atlanta, and she said while it was hard to leave home, she found comfort within the Hawkeyes. Plus, LaSondra Barrett, the assistant coach who recruited Wright to Georgia Tech, left to take a job on Iowa’s staff.

“Especially with Coach Boogie coming here, I had the idea of ‘OK, that’s somewhere I could see myself,’” Wright said. “The program’s really nice — my teammates, my coaches — and just the legacy behind the name ‘Iowa’ is pretty good.

“I’ve always lived in Georgia my whole life, so it’s been a big change. It’s pretty hot, but it’s pretty hot in Atlanta too. The process was pretty smooth. Everybody made sure I was good, which is a good thing.”

Once Wright visited Iowa, she decided not to take any other official visits.

“Official visits are very long, so just all the time … I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time, because I knew this is where I want to be,” Wright said. “I felt like that would be selfish of me to just keep going on visits, spending money and all that. So it felt really great just coming here.”

Wright has fit in with her teammates.

“I love them,” she said. “We make so many TikTok videos. Just a lot of bonding together, even if it’s just board games, card games. We just make sure we spend time with each other.”

So, about the nickname?

“So it came from my first AAU team,” Wright said. “I was very quiet, so it’s ironic that I got the name ‘Chit-Chat”, and it’s just …  it’s very unique. So I stuck with it, and now everybody calls me ‘Chit-Chat.’”

Asked if anybody calls her by her first name, Wright said, “Some people to be funny, but some people on the team do.”

Some have even shortened the nickname to just “Chat.”

“I feel like I own it now,” Wright said of the nickname. “Yeah, I own it now.”

Her goal this summer is to find her role within the Hawkeyes, especially with the starting point guard spot open.

“I would say I was very quiet, kind of like the shy kid,” Wright said when asked to describe her game. “But then also somebody who was able to score, get buckets, pass, facilitate. So I would say I was like a quiet assassin.”

Photo: Chazadi ‘Chit-Chat’ Wright (right) is happy with her decision to transfer to Iowa. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire)