Former Georgia basketball star Damien Wilkins suits up for the Red, White and Blue
At 35 years old, former Georgia basketball star Damien Wilkins suits up for USA tonight in Toronto and begins Pan-American Game competition.
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Damien Wilkins has been around. He’s played for N. C. State, Georgia, the Seattle Super Sonics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Detroit Pistons, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association and, most recently, the Indios de Mayagüez of Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
Wilkins also played this last season for the Iowa Energy in the NBA D-league, making the All-Star team and scoring 13 points in the D-League All-Star Game.
Now at age 35, Wilkins dons the Red, White and Blue of team USA to compete in the Pan-American Games in Toronto.
Watch @dwilkins3000 make his @usabasketball debut in the Pan Am Games at 9 pm tonight on ESPN2 http://t.co/Ng6hGe2VZD pic.twitter.com/kmzOyq6W1A
— Georgia Basketball (@UGABasketball) July 21, 2015
“It means everything.” Wilkins told John Frierson of Georgiadogs.com. “This is for everyone in the United States of America. It’s an extraordinary honor.”
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.
Wilkins claims he’s in the best shape of his life. With his many years on the court in many leagues and with may players, Wilkins told Frierson “cagey veteran” and “elder statesman” area good descriptions of what he brings to Team USA.
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“I feel like with my age I am getting better. I see the game differently and the game is slowing down for me.”
Wilkins hopes to return to the NBA. “Ultimately,” he told Scott Cacciola of the nytimes.com . “My goal is to get back to the N.B.A. I want that more than anything, man.”
Wilkins has a plan for the day when the phone doesn’t ring with a call for another playing opportunity, telling Frierson, “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.”
That’s down the road. Now, it’ everything for the Red, White and Blue.