January 29, 2009

David Fox
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff Writer

When Gary Wilkinson called Norm Parrish to ask for a spot on the Salt Lake Community College basketball team, Wilkinson didn't have much to sell.

He had dropped out of high school three months before graduation and never played varsity basketball. He was four years removed from his would-be graduation date. He was out of shape and had played pickup basketball only sparingly in the past few years. Plus, he was looking for a scholarship and told Parrish he wouldn't walk-on.

Wilkinson had a trump card, though: He was 6 feet 9, which earned him a spot in a crowded tryout in front of an SLCC assistant.

"I'd hate to say it, but if he were 6-2, I probably never would have invited him to go play," Parrish said. "I would have said, 'You're another 6-2 kid that didn't go to high school.' His size got him a look, but he took full advantage."

That's an understatement. Wilkinson – who showed enough at that SLCC tryout to earn a scholarship offer – now is the best player on a Utah State team that is 19-1 and looks primed to win the WAC title.

"A lot of guys would hang up the phone," said Jessica Wilkinson, Gary's wife. "That he [Parrish] gave him the time of day changed Gary's life."

Wilkinson, a 26-year-old senior, has led the Aggies to their best start since the 2003-04 season. A victory Thursday night against second-place Nevada would seal Utah State's 10th consecutive 20-win season and give the Aggies a two-game conference lead midway through the league schedule. Utah State also is hoping for its sixth NCAA tourney trip this decade.

Wilkinson, the team's only senior, is leading the way following the departure of star guard Jaycee Carroll, who was the WAC's leading scorer last season. Wilkinson is tied for second in the WAC in scoring (17 points per game) and is fourth in rebounding (7.5).

His season at Utah State is part of a larger transformation. In high school, he studied too little and partied too much. And in a religious community, he was far from devout.

By the time he was a freshman at South Jordan (Utah) Bingham, he already had lost interest in basketball. He played on an AAU team as an eighth-grader, and his high school coach wanted Wilkinson – who was 6-4 at the time – to be a forward. But Wilkinson wouldn't switch from guard, so he quit the team.

"I was tired of it," Wilkinson said. "I played so much basketball. I wanted to do something else. That 'something else' wasn't the best thing to do."

Wilkinson spent much of his high school years staying out late and drinking with friends, and finally gave up on classes altogether three months from the end of his senior year – even though he was on track to graduate.

Then, a friend committed suicide … and it changed Wilkinson's life.

"Those things happening, tragic experiences, make us question the path we're on," Wilkinson said. "That's what it did for me. That made me question, 'If I continue to do the things I do, will I end up in the same position?'

"All of my friends and everything that was important was involved in drinking and drugs and that type of thing. I wasn't going to allow that to be part of my life."

He earned his GED, started working and began going to junior college classes part-time. He joined the Mormon Church and prepared for a mission; he ended up spending two years in Calgary doing missionary work. When he returned, he hoped basketball would help him pay for college.

That's when he found Parrish.

At first, Parrish had obvious reservations. Wilkinson was raw because he hadn't played organized basketball since that AAU experience as an eighth-grader and wasn't in shape after his mission. But Parrish had no misgivings about Wilkinson's attitude.

"If you're disciplined enough to do that [a mission] for two years, you're disciplined to handle most anything," Parrish said. "I didn't think I was taking much of a risk as far as baggage. It kind of erased the dropout."

At SLCC, Wilkinson was an honorable-mention Junior College All-America and a two-time academic All-America. He met Jessica there, too; she was planning to attend Utah State and play volleyball.

When Utah State found Wilkinson, Aggies coaches didn't worry about his troubled past.

"Norm probably had a few reservations," Utah State assistant Tim Duryea said. "When we recruited him, we had absolutely zero."

These days, Wilkinson is enjoying life in Logan. He spends his free time talking to high schools and church groups, youth as well as adults. Those close to him still find it hard to believe the path Wilkinson took to Division I basketball.

"That's impossible for me to even imagine," Duryea said. "We know him how he is now. That's the farthest thing from how he is."

David Fox is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at dfox@rivals.com.