Gary Wilkinson (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Gary Kristopher Wilkinson (born October 2, 1982) is an American
professional basketball
player currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers
of the Australasian
NBL
. He played college basketball
at Utah State
and has played previously for professional teams in Greece
and South Korea
.
, Utah
. At Bingham High School
, Wilkinson was cut from the basketball team and dropped out his senior year; he told ESPN The Magazine
: "I really didn't have any goals. I didn't have any ambition to play college basketball, didn't have any ambition to go to Utah State
university at all. I just sat around and partied with my friends." One of Wilkinson's friends committed suicide eight months after Wilkinson quit school; a friend of that friend recommended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Wilkinson. Eventually, Wilkinson earned his GED
, went on a two-year missionary
in Alberta
, Canada
, and enrolled in Salt Lake Community College
. Recalling his missionary work in Canada, Wilkinson said in an interview with the New Zealand Herald: "Sometimes it was so cold I actually couldn't speak because my jaw was frozen. We had to write with pencils as the ink in the pens would freeze." Wilkinson now shares his life story with youth groups and schools.
basketball team. He averaged 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and shot 60.2 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the free throw line. Coach Norm Parrish was skeptical at first after Wilkinson called him for a tryout but was impressed enough to invite Wilkinson to the team. Wilkinson's awards during his time at SLCC include the Scenic West Athletic Conference First Team (2006, 2007) and NJCAA
All-American Third Team in 2006. With a 3.96 grade point average, he also was on the NJCAA
Academic All-American Team after his first season.
from 2007 to 2009. His first season, he scored an average 13.3 points per game and shot 58.4 percent from the field and made 81.5 percent of his free throw
s along with 7.0 rebounds per game. As a senior, and the only senior in his team, Wilkinson averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Utah State won the WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
in 2009 after beating Nevada
72-62. For that game, Wilkinson scored 21 points. However, in the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
, Utah State lost to Marquette
58-57. Wilkinson scored 15 points and made four rebounds and missed a three-pointer when Utah State was trailing 57-54.
Wilkinson graduated from Utah State in 2009 with a summa cum laude degree in sociology and was Sociology Outstanding Student of the Year. In August 2009, Wilkinson became the first Utah State student-athlete to win the Stan Bates Award for top academic achievement. He was also Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
for 2009.
Scott Powers, in a profile of Wilkinson for ESPN The Magazine, commented: "...the fact he's 26-years-old, dropped out of high school after never playing basketball there, found God, spent two years in Canada on a mission, is married and is the lone senior on the 25-2 nationally-ranked Aggies is what really separates him from every other elite college basketball player."
team Wonju Dongbu Promy
. He averaged 15.9 minutes, 9.2 points, and 4.1 rebounds per game, and Dongbu cut Wilkinson in November 2009. Wilkinson signed with the Greek team Peristeri BC; among his teammates at Peristeri was former Utah State
player Spencer Nelson
.
The Australasian
National Basketball League
team New Zealand Breakers
signed Wilkinson in August 2010. With the Breakers, Wilkinson scored in double-digit figures for 13 straight games by February 2011 and played the most minutes overall.
Wilkinson was named Player of the Month for January 2011, averaging 20.3 points per game, shooting the ball at 61% from the field and 42% from the perimeter. He also made 82% of his freethrows and averaged 8.0 rebounds per game, and was later named to the All-NBL First Team (alongside teammate Kirk Penney
). With a 71-53 victory over the Cairns Taipans
in the third game of the NBL Grand Final on April 29, 2011, the Breakers became the NBL champions of the 2010–11 season
. Wilkinson scored 13 points and made six rebounds. The Breakers offered Wilkinson a two-year deal, and Wilkinson is considering playing for a European team next season. On August 2, 2011, Wilkinson signed a one-year contract with the Breakers.
, Utah
during off-seasons.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...
of the Australasian
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
NBL
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
. He played college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
at Utah State
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
and has played previously for professional teams in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
.
Early life
Wilkinson was born in Salt Lake City and grew up in South JordanSouth Jordan, Utah
South Jordan is a city in the U.S. state of Utah. The city lies in the Salt Lake Valley between the peaks of the Oquirrh Mountains and the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains and is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. At Bingham High School
Bingham High School
Bingham High School, located in the Jordan School District, is one of the oldest schools in Utah. It celebrated its centennial on September 9, 2008. It serves 2,495 students in South Jordan.-Student Government History:...
, Wilkinson was cut from the basketball team and dropped out his senior year; he told ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
: "I really didn't have any goals. I didn't have any ambition to play college basketball, didn't have any ambition to go to Utah State
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
university at all. I just sat around and partied with my friends." One of Wilkinson's friends committed suicide eight months after Wilkinson quit school; a friend of that friend recommended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Wilkinson. Eventually, Wilkinson earned his GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
, went on a two-year missionary
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and enrolled in Salt Lake Community College
Salt Lake Community College
Salt Lake Community College is the largest higher education institution with the most diverse student body in Utah . The College offers and operates throughout the Salt Lake valley. Even with its large student body, the College maintains a student to faculty ratio of just 20 to 1...
. Recalling his missionary work in Canada, Wilkinson said in an interview with the New Zealand Herald: "Sometimes it was so cold I actually couldn't speak because my jaw was frozen. We had to write with pencils as the ink in the pens would freeze." Wilkinson now shares his life story with youth groups and schools.
Salt Lake Community College
For two seasons (2005–2007), Wilkinson played for the Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake Community College
Salt Lake Community College is the largest higher education institution with the most diverse student body in Utah . The College offers and operates throughout the Salt Lake valley. Even with its large student body, the College maintains a student to faculty ratio of just 20 to 1...
basketball team. He averaged 18.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and shot 60.2 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the free throw line. Coach Norm Parrish was skeptical at first after Wilkinson called him for a tryout but was impressed enough to invite Wilkinson to the team. Wilkinson's awards during his time at SLCC include the Scenic West Athletic Conference First Team (2006, 2007) and NJCAA
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...
All-American Third Team in 2006. With a 3.96 grade point average, he also was on the NJCAA
National Junior College Athletic Association
The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...
Academic All-American Team after his first season.
Utah State
Wilkinson played for the Utah State AggiesUtah State Aggies men's basketball
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Western Athletic Conference, representing Utah State University. The Aggies have enjoyed an extremely high amount of success in recent years under head coach Stew Morrill...
from 2007 to 2009. His first season, he scored an average 13.3 points per game and shot 58.4 percent from the field and made 81.5 percent of his free throw
Free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...
s along with 7.0 rebounds per game. As a senior, and the only senior in his team, Wilkinson averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Utah State won the WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The Western Athletic Conference has held a postseason tournament to crown a men's basketball champion every year since 1984. The event has alternated between being hosted at campus sites and neutral sites throughout its history...
in 2009 after beating Nevada
Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball
The Nevada Wolf Pack basketball program is a college basketball team that represents the University of Nevada, Reno. The team is currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which is a Division I conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
72-62. For that game, Wilkinson scored 21 points. However, in the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
, Utah State lost to Marquette
Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball
The Marquette Golden Eagles Basketball team is the basketball team that represents Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school's 1977 team, coached by Al McGuire, won the NCAA championship. Currently the team competes in the Big East Conference. It last played in the NCAA Division I...
58-57. Wilkinson scored 15 points and made four rebounds and missed a three-pointer when Utah State was trailing 57-54.
Wilkinson graduated from Utah State in 2009 with a summa cum laude degree in sociology and was Sociology Outstanding Student of the Year. In August 2009, Wilkinson became the first Utah State student-athlete to win the Stan Bates Award for top academic achievement. He was also Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
The Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Western Athletic Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1980–81 season. Keith Van Horn of Utah and Nick Fazekas of Nevada are the only players to have won...
for 2009.
Scott Powers, in a profile of Wilkinson for ESPN The Magazine, commented: "...the fact he's 26-years-old, dropped out of high school after never playing basketball there, found God, spent two years in Canada on a mission, is married and is the lone senior on the 25-2 nationally-ranked Aggies is what really separates him from every other elite college basketball player."
Professional career
In July 2009, Wilkinson signed with the Korean Basketball LeagueKorean Basketball League
The Korean Basketball League, often abbreviated to the KBL, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in South Korea. Its inaugural season was in 1997. The season starts in October and ends in April the following year. The KBL consists of 10 teams. Each team plays 54 games . Each team...
team Wonju Dongbu Promy
Wonju Dongbu Promy
The Wonju Dongbu Promy is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League.-Trophies:*Champions : 3** 2002-2003, 2004–2005, 2007–2008*Regular season titles : 3** 2003-2004, 2004–2005, 2007–2008-Famous players:...
. He averaged 15.9 minutes, 9.2 points, and 4.1 rebounds per game, and Dongbu cut Wilkinson in November 2009. Wilkinson signed with the Greek team Peristeri BC; among his teammates at Peristeri was former Utah State
Utah State Aggies men's basketball
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Western Athletic Conference, representing Utah State University. The Aggies have enjoyed an extremely high amount of success in recent years under head coach Stew Morrill...
player Spencer Nelson
Spencer Nelson
Spencer Howells Nelson is an American-born Azerbaijani naturalized professional basketball player, currently playing for CB Gran Canaria in the Spanish ACB. At 6'8", he plays both forward positions, although he is mainly considered as a power forward...
.
The Australasian
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
National Basketball League
National Basketball League (Australasia)
The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....
team New Zealand Breakers
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers are a professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The Breakers joined the NBL for the 2003/04 season as one of two expansion clubs. The club is based in the city of Auckland, New Zealand and play their home games at the North...
signed Wilkinson in August 2010. With the Breakers, Wilkinson scored in double-digit figures for 13 straight games by February 2011 and played the most minutes overall.
Wilkinson was named Player of the Month for January 2011, averaging 20.3 points per game, shooting the ball at 61% from the field and 42% from the perimeter. He also made 82% of his freethrows and averaged 8.0 rebounds per game, and was later named to the All-NBL First Team (alongside teammate Kirk Penney
Kirk Penney
Kirk Samuel Penney is a New Zealander professional basketball player.-University of Wisconsin :...
). With a 71-53 victory over the Cairns Taipans
Cairns Taipans
The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Australasian National Basketball League. The club is based in the northern Queensland city of Cairns. The Taipans, named after a species of venomous snake native to Australia, entered the NBL in the 1999/2000 season...
in the third game of the NBL Grand Final on April 29, 2011, the Breakers became the NBL champions of the 2010–11 season
2010–11 NBL season
The 2010–11 National Basketball League is the thirty-third season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 9 teams will contest the league. The regular season will be played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the top four. The schedule was...
. Wilkinson scored 13 points and made six rebounds. The Breakers offered Wilkinson a two-year deal, and Wilkinson is considering playing for a European team next season. On August 2, 2011, Wilkinson signed a one-year contract with the Breakers.
Personal life
In 2006, Gary Wilkinson married Utah State volleyball player Jessica Petersen. Their son Jordan James was born in 2011. Wilkinson wants to attend law school after his basketball career and lives in LoganLogan, Utah
-Layout of the City:Logan's city grid originates from its Main and Center Street block, with Main Street running north and south, and Center east and west. Each block north, east, south, or west of the origin accumulates in additions of 100 , though some streets have non-numeric names...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
during off-seasons.