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January 23, 2004 > Sports > Straight to the point

Straight to the point

2001 Rice graduate Mike Wilks makes it big in the NBA

By Jason Gershman | Thresher staff

While New England Patriots linebacker Larry Izzo (Sid Rich ‘96) will be in town to play in Super Bowl XXXVIII, NBA point guard Mike Wilks (Sid Rich ‘01) is in Houston on a more permanent basis with the Houston Rockets.

Wilks has played for seven professional teams in a little more than two years, and he said his experiences at Rice prepared him for the tough road to the NBA.

“Being in this profession, you’re going to be challenged, and my Rice education on and off the court taught me a lot on how to handle those challenges successfully,” Wilks said. “I’d love to follow in the shoes of Ricky Pierce [Will Rice ‘83] and have a successful NBA career and live out a dream, but I know it will take hard work every day to achieve that.”

Wilks has come a long way from the inner city of Milwaukee, Wis., where he dreamed of playing in the NBA on the same court as his favorite player, Michael Jordan. Last December, as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, Wilks realized his dream when his Hawks played against Jordan’s Washington Wizards.

Wilks’ journey to the NBA, however, was almost the opposite of Jordan’s. A man with less desire and perseverance than Wilks might have given up his dream of playing in the NBA at numerous rough points along the journey.

Wilks’ NBA aspirations began on the courts near his home in Milwaukee. Growing up as the only child of a close-knit family, his parents always stressed academics. On the courts, however, the soft-spoken Wilks dazzled the older and bigger boys with his natural ability. He took up organized basketball, and his hard work paid off, when in 1997 he was named Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball — the state’s top player — after his senior year of high school.

While some collegiate coaches questioned his small 5-foot-11 stature, Rice head coach Willis Wilson (Will Rice ‘82) saw something special. Wilson’s hunch yielded great dividends, as Wilks’ name is still all over the Rice record books after his 2001 graduation with a degree in economics after four years at Rice, somewhat of a rarity among Division I basketball players.

Statistically in his Rice career, Wilks ranked third in steals, fifth in assists and 11th in points, among numerous other categories. In his senior year, he was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year by College Insider and a Verizon/coSIDA Academic All-District VI honoree. Although Wilks’ teams could not match his personal success, Wilson said his legacy means a lot to the program.

“[Wilks] is one of the main reasons that we’re able to have the success that we’re having right now,” Wilson said. “He really laid a foundation for our basketball program, and more importantly, he weathered the storm. Mike never had the caliber of players around him — because of injuries and other things — that the guys playing here today at Rice have.”

Wilks also set an example for younger players like current seniors Yamar Diene, Christian Kollik and Rashid Smith and last year’s team leader Omar-Seli Mance (Baker ‘03).

“Mike was quiet, but when he did speak, you had to listen to him,” Smith said. “I kind of try to emulate the things he said. I’m not really a big talker, but if I have something to say, I try to let them know that it’s important.”

Wilson also said Wilks’ loyalty to the program has set an example for the current group of players.

“When there was every reason for Mike to give in or even to look elsewhere, he stayed loyal to this program, and I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration and appreciation for Mike for that,” Wilson said. “He single-handedly carried this program for a couple of years.”

Wilson repaid Wilks by setting up appointments for him to work with current Golden State Warriors guard Avery Johnson as Wilks prepared for a pre-draft exhibition game of pro prospects. Hurt by Rice’s lack of basketball prestige — only former Chicago Bulls forward Pierce has had a successful career in the last 25 years — Wilks was not taken in the 2001 NBA draft.

Nevertheless, Wilks got a chance that summer, when he played six games in the NBA summer league with the Sacramento Kings, but he did not make the regular-season roster.

He was then drafted by the Mobile (Ala.) Revelers of the National Basketball Developmental League but saw little action before being cut by the team early in the season.

Wilks did not give up, however, and earned another shot in the NBDL. Joining the Huntsville (Ala.) Flight later that season, Wilks made an immediate impact and helped turn around the struggling franchise. Wilks finished the 2001-‘02 season sixth in the league in both steals and assists and was awarded with the inaugural NBDL Sportsmanship Award.

Wilks entered training camp in the fall of 2002 as a member of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, his hometown team, but again did not make the final cut. Later that year, Wilks began his second season with the Flight before being called up to the NBA by the struggling Hawks in December. He played in 15 games for the Hawks, seven of them in the starting lineup before eventually being signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves for the remainder of the 2002-‘03 season, playing in 31 more games.

He was signed as a free agent by the Houston Rockets before the start of the 2003-‘04 season. Although his one-year contract is for $563,000 per year — the lowest salary on the team — Wilks appears to have found his role as a backup to point guard Steve Francis and is once again proud to call Houston his home.

“[Houston]’s like my second home, and it’s good to be back around my friends and people I consider to be family,” Wilks said. “It’s been a long journey playing in the minor leagues and so many different climates in the NBA. I learned a lot playing under [point guard] Sam Cassell at Minnesota, and I enjoy going up against Steve [Francis] everyday in practice, and I can’t help but get better. It’s been great playing against an all-star every day.”

Wilks has made an impact on his teammates in a short time. Because of his quiet and easy-going attitude off the court and his hard work ethic on the court, he has earned the immediate respect and admiration of his coaches and teammates.

“Mike’s a hard worker and has great quickness,” Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “He’s a solid, sound, smart player. He’s a good man of great character and intensity and, in this league, you can’t have enough of those guys on your team.”

Wilks’ teammates echoed their coach’s admiration, and several are especially close despite being anywhere from two to 19 inches taller than Wilks.

“Me and [forward Kelvin] Cato pick on him a lot, but it’s all in good fun” Rockets forward Maurice Taylor, who at age 27 stands 6-9, said. “He’s like our little brother. He’s a great guy, and we love having him around, and we’re glad he’s having the opportunity that he’s getting.”

Taylor said Wilks’ style complements the team’s flashier players.

“On the court, he’s very steady,” Taylor said. “We have a lot of flamboyant guys on this team, and he’s just a steady guy. We can count on him to run the offense and get the ball to guys who are open, and we don’t lose anything with him on the court.”

During his rare free time, Wilks is very active in the community. He is involved with the NBA’s Read to Achieve program and spends time with the Boys and Girls clubs reading and talking to Houston youth.

Wilks said he also enjoys coming back to Autry Court to watch the current Owl basketball team. He stays in frequent contact with the Rice coaches and said he feels this year’s team can earn an NCAA Tournament bid, which the program has not done since 1970.

“I’ve had some chances to go out and see the guys, and I’m very impressed by the way they’ve been playing,” Wilks said. “I’m very proud of the team, and Coach [Wilson] is doing an excellent job in leading and teaching the guys, who are very talented. Last year, it was very exciting for Rice to win the College World Series, and I’m looking forward to the basketball team making the NCAA tournament and winning championships.”

Wilks also said he stays in touch with the influential Wilson.

“I talk to Coach Wilson all the time,” Wilks said. “I saw his father and brother recently while we were playing in D.C. He’s a guy I look up to and admire, and he’s one of the reasons I’m so thankful that I went to Rice — just to have a person like that in my life. He’s made me a better player and, most importantly, a better person.”

Wilks said the highlight of his career so far was facing the Los Angeles Lakers in last year’s NBA playoffs.

“I’ve had the privilege of living a dream and playing in places like Madison Square Garden and against players like Michael Jordan,” Wilks said. “Going to the playoffs with Minnesota last year and playing in L.A. with the crowd — just to experience that atmosphere and energy and play against Shaq and Kobe was an amazing feeling.”

Assistant sports editor Adam Tabakin contributed to this story.

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