May 3, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
John Wilkins, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound guard, has signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) with Illinois State according to Redbird head basketball coach Tim Jankovich and will suit up for the same school as his father, Jeff Wilkins, did in the mid-1970s.
"We are so excited that John has chosen to join our program," Jankovich said. "He is a very talented player with a great deal of potential and a very high ceiling. Obviously, he comes from tremendous bloodlines, as his father was one of the greatest players in school history and an NBA player for six years."
The elder Wilkins, who played professionally in Europe for 18 years after his six-year NBA career ended, played three seasons for the Redbirds from 1974-77. The two-time All-American ranks No. 17 in school history for points scored (1,329) and is the season leader in blocked shots with 103.
The younger Wilkins was born in France while his father played there and moved to Belgium when he was 8 years old. He originally committed to Bradley in August 2008, but never signed and has been attending Southeastern Iowa Community College.
After playing five games with a Belgium professional team four years ago, Wilkins was ruled ineligible by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and was not able to play this season at Southeastern Iowa.
Wilkins will enter Illinois State as a sophomore athletically and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. He joins Anthony Cousin, Jordan Threloff and Kenyon Smith in the 2010 recruiting class.
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