Gary Wukilkinson
The route taken to get from Salt Lake City to Logan at times is very straight. Other parts are more curvy. The life and path Salt Lake Community College transfer Gary Wilkinson took to get to Utah State could be described the latter way. Growing up in South Jordan, Wilkinson began playing basketball at a very young age when his dad signed him up for a basketball camp. It was at that first camp where Wilkinson won a defensive award and knew that he was pretty good at basketball. Continuing on to succeed at the high school level would seem to be the logical path for this up-and-coming basketball star who would later become a All-American at SLCC. Wilkinson chose a completely different route instead. “Gary didn’t have the advantage of a lot of high school coaching, so he’s a little bit behind in his base,” said USU assistant basketball coach Tim Duryea. “Most kids are learning a lot of things when they are 16, 17, 18 years old that Gary learned at Salt Lake, and they are more habits.” So he didn’t play high school basketball? “No he didn’t play high school basketball, he dropped out of high school,” Duryea said. Come again? “Yea, he’s one of the all-time success stories,” Duryea said. “There’s a high school dropout that went on his church mission, kind of got his life together, showed up at Salt Lake and got over a 3.0 GPA, and he’s a ju-co (junior college) all-American. He has a lot of self-motivation. Anybody that does that is made up of the right stuff.” The “right stuff” is what you can expect Wilkinson to bring to this year’s team. Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing in at 240 pounds, Wilkinson brings toughness and a good attitude to the team, Duryea said. “Gary Wilkinson brings tremendous energy every single day,” Duryea said. “He is physically tough, he is mentally tough, he’s energetic, he’s enthusiastic and those are the intangibles. Basketball-wise he’s big, he’s strong, he’s skilled, he can step out and shoot the 3. When he gets fouled, he’s a very good free-throw shooter. His back to the basket game is evolving, not where it needs to be, but getting there.” Wilkinson attributes his success on the court to hard work. “Nothing gets done unless you work hard,” Wilkinson said. Motivation to work hard not only comes from within Wilkinson, but also comes from another source – his wife Jessica, who transferred to Utah State with him and plays volleyball for the university. “She knows when I struggle and when I need to get better,” Wilkinson said. “So she is in my ear probably more than Coach Morrill about getting better and doing the little things.” Coming to Utah State, Wilkinson said, will give him the best chance at developing his game and winning. “When I was looking at schools, I felt Utah State would be most advantageous,” Wilkinson said. “They win all the time, and I want to be in a program that wins. I think that Coach Morrill is one of the most outstanding coaches. He knows how to get the most out of his players and I think that if I wanted my game to progress, then this is where I needed to be, so that’s why I chose Utah State.” Wilkinson said he knows Division-I basketball is a completely different level of ball than junior college but said playing college ball already at the lower level taught him about the amount of work and dedication required to be successful. Offensively, Wilkinson will bring an inside presence but also has the ability to step out and hit jump shots if he has to. He said he can score by a number of different methods. “At Salt Lake Community, they got to me the ball in the post a lot, inside by the basket, as well as offensive rebounds,” he said. “A few jump shots, but mostly on the inside. I feel way comfortable on the perimeter, though.” Becoming a better defensive player is one of Wilkinson’s main goals this year at Utah State, he said. “Do a little better on the defensive end and get more aware of where I need to be, and being more solid on the post as far as defense,” he said. While at SLCC as a sophomore, Wilkinson garnered honorable mention All-American awards. He averaged 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 60 percent from the field and 74 percent from the charity stripe. In addition to his accolades as a basketball player, Wilkinson was also a two-time academic All-American. -sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu