University of Georgia Athletics
Wilkins Still Going Strong At 35
July 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Damien Wilkins has worn more than a few jerseys in his lengthy basketball career. Heck, he’s on his third team in 2015 alone. But the uniform he’s wearing now, there’s nothing else quite like it.
Tuesday night in Toronto, the 6-foot-6 forward and former Georgia Bulldog will suit up for the United States in the Pan American Games. The Americans begin round-robin play against Venezuela, and taking the floor in a jersey with “U.S.A.” on the front will be a special moment for the 35-year-old Wilkins.
“It means everything, man,” Wilkins, who played for the Dogs from 2002-04, said last week in a phone interview from training camp in Chicago. “This is the ultimate. ... To be able to come here and be on this stage, and to wear the red, white and blue, it’s more than just playing for your team or your school.
“The stakes are higher because of pride and playing for your country. This is for everyone in the United States of America. It’s an extraordinary honor.”
Wilkins spent nine seasons in the NBA, from 2004-2013. He spent four seasons with Seattle/Oklahoma City, followed by stops in Minnesota, Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia. After that he spent a season in China and played in Puerto Rico.
In 2015, Wilkins has been an NBA Development League All-Star for the Iowa Energy, averaging 20.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. In the spring he went down to Puerto Rico for the second straight year and averaged 17.3 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league’s Indios de Mayagüez squad.
Now, the nephew of Georgia all-time great Dominique Wilkins is doing something he never thought he’d get a chance to do. Wilkins was playing in Puerto Rico about six weeks ago when his agent called and asked if he’d be interested in trying out for the U.S. team.
“I didn’t really know much about it until my agent called me,” Wilkins said. “He said, ‘What do you think?’ I said, ‘I think my bags are packed.’”
The U.S. team’s 12-man roster, which is coached by Gonzaga’s Mark Few, features seven players 22 or younger and four 30 and older. Wilkins is by far the oldest, with former Kansas guard Keith Langford next at 31.
Age seems to be just a number for Wilkins, who said he’s in the best shape of his life. All his years on the court have greatly contributed to his basketball IQ and leadership ability, however. He said the term “cagey veteran” was a good fit for him. “Elder statesman” worked too, he said.
“I told somebody the other day, I feel like I am getting better as a basketball player,” he said. “ I feel like with my age I am getting better. I see the game differently and the game is slowing down for me.”
Georgia assistant coach Jonas Hayes, a teammate of Wilkins’ at UGA, said he was elated when he found out that Wilkins had made the Pan Am roster.
“I was so unbelievably excited for him,” Hayes said. “It’s a great opportunity and I don’t think it could happen to a better person. I’m just really excited and glad for him.”
Wilkins’ longevity is no surprise to his former teammate.
“Damien Wilkins is a basketball lifer,” Hayes said. “He lives it, he breathes it, he eats it, he studies it and to boot, he’s very, very good at it.”
ESPN basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla tweeted Sunday that players and coaches on the U.S. squad were “raving about the leadership of Damien Wilkins. Going strong at 35 but coaching is in his future.”
Wilkins is feeling too good and playing too well to hang up the high-tops right now, but coaching is for sure what he’d like to do once he’s done playing. His long and varied professional career has provided him with a wealth of knowledge and experiences, he said.
“When I look back on it, I’ve gone through so much and experienced so many things. Basketball has just been good to me year after year after year,” he said. “It’s taken me to so many places and I’ve met tons of great people. And I think that’s what’s helped my game evolve, to be honest. I’ve played in so many different environments where you had to adapt to a different style of play.
“Every coach I’ve played for knows I want to coach when I’m done playing and I try to keep in contact with a lot of people and I try to get as much knowledge as I can from them all.”
While Wilkins might have a plan for after he’s done playing, he hasn’t given up on a return to the NBA. Performing at a high level this week could help make that happen.
“Every time I step on the floor it’s an audition, especially this week because there will be so many eyes watching,” he said. “Not only NBA eyes, but teams from Europe and all over the place. First things first, I want to get into an NBA training camp.
“I hope to get an invite and I hope that the things I’ve done in the last nine or 10 months can help me get that. It starts here with these Pan Am Games.”
John Frierson is a staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Hall of Fame at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. You can follow him on Twitter: @TheFrierson and @ITAHallofFame.