Sam Houston transfer guard Lamar Wilkerson discussed his commitment to Indiana on Tuesday afternoon in an interview with the Field of 68.
A full transcript of his comments is available below, along with the full video of his interview with Field of 68:
Rob Dauster: Lamar, congratulations, first and foremost. What led you to decide that Bloomington is where you’re going to spend your last season in college?
Lamar Wilkerson: I’m grateful for the opportunity that I had to get recruited by the top blue bloods and the schools. It was a hard decision, but Indiana felt like home, man. I’m just, I’m ready to bring Hoosier basketball back.
Jeff Goodman: I did talk to your coach at Sam Houston State Chris Mudge to get the scouting report on you a couple days ago, and he said size, elite shooter. But the biggest thing that he told me, that surprised me, was, like, the ultimate gym rat, works as hard as anybody I’ve ever coached. Why? What? What is it about you that, again, that’s allowed you to get to this level?
Wilkerson: Small town dude, you know, I had a different chip on my shoulder. Nothing was ever handed to me from out of high school. I went JUCO, out of JUCO to I went D1 and now we’re here. So I’ve never had anything handed to me. And early in my life, my parents, my mom, my sisters, my siblings, they all showed me what hard work and dedication was. So it stuck with me. And, you know, you only get in what you put out.
Dauster: Give me the scouting report on yourself. Break down your game. Tell Indiana fans what they can expect to see out of you.
Wilkerson: Man, you can expect to see a good dude that’s all in and 100 percent to, you know, bringing Indiana Hoosier basketball back. I like to think I’m very electric. I play with a lot of passion. I may play with too much passion at times, but I feel like, I feel like you’ll get an electrifying player every day that’s gonna go 110 for whichever jersey I’m repping. And happy to say it’s gonna be the Indiana Hoosiers, man.
Goodman: So why was it Indiana? I mean, you had Kentucky. Who else was it at the end? I know it was Indiana, Kentucky at the very end, but why Indiana over Kentucky and some of these other big time programs?
Wilkerson: Like I said, it was a pleasure to be recruited by Kentucky, but I didn’t want to go to Kentucky and just be another guy, you know, that has already been to Kentucky. Hoosiers basketball, is a, it’s a big time name. And they haven’t been where they wanted to be. And, I trust coach DeVries, and what he’s bringing in, and the type of coach he is, and how he’s going to put us in position to win. And we could do this together, man, it’s just, it’s just gonna make my story better, his story better, and then Hoosier basketball will be back.
Dauster: All right, so when it comes to Coach DeVries, what is it about, maybe his style that you like? What is it about the pitch that he made to you that makes you believe that a shooter like yourself could be a fit there?
Wilkerson: It really wasn’t the pitch. It was just him as a person. You know, you could tell he’s very genuine about what he says. You know, that he actually believes in, you know, he actually flew out here today to come see me, and so that was big man, that was major, I want to go where I’m a priority, and that’s where Indiana makes me feel like a priority.
Goodman: So the other thing Mudge told me was he’s gotten better putting the ball on the floor and a really good defender. Usually guys that shoot the ball like you shoot it with your size. Let’s face it, a lot of them can’t guard. You can guard. And tell me about how much you’ve developed as a guy that can be more than just a shooter.
Wilkerson: Like I said, my story, the coaches I played for in the past, they’ve taught me it’s more than just putting the ball in the hoop. It’s more than just, you can have 30, but if your guy has 35 and you lose, then what have you done for real, for real. So, that was big, man, and that just carried with me. And yeah, I just, I locked in on the other end. I have a long way to improve, though, I have a long way to improve on the defensive end, though. We’ll get there, we’ll get there.
Dauster: You know, you’re not a finished product. You see, you guys that have come from the JUCO ranks, and it always feels like there’s a level of work ethic that comes with a player like that, because nothing’s been handed to you, right? When you’re in JUCO basketball, it’s not like playing like you’re not like a top-25 freshman, you’re not a top-25 recruit coming in. You know, you learn how to be able to work for everything that you get. And it sounds like that’s something that you take pride in.
Wilkerson: For sure man. Like I said, you’re only as good as what you put out, man. So I try to work, go hard every day, and hopefully, you know, God led my steps to be where I am now. So I just put my trust in Him, and then I just keep grinding, keep working. And then, if it’s meant for me, it’ll be.
Goodman: I’m not gonna ask you how much you got in NIL, but I’m gonna ask you what your first purchase is going to be with that. Give me your first big purchase. What are you going to buy with that first check?
Wilkerson: Mom’s not in here, so I can say it, but you know, definitely got to do something for my duke’s man. I owe it all to her, you know, I wouldn’t be here right now if that lady didn’t make the sacrifices she done. So, it’s definitely, she’s definitely gonna get the better end of it, for real.
Dauster: Is it kind of a relief to now have made this decision, and you know, once you kind of get past the …it’s quick, it comes at you really fast. Now you’re here, and now you know what your next step is, you know where you’re going to be and you can start working towards that goal of winning a Big 10 championship.
Wilkerson: For sure, man. I’m just ready to start working now. I don’t have to answer phone calls, put off workouts no more, to talk to certain coaches and stuff like that. Now I can keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s just that’s making that tournament, man. Getting Indiana in that tournament.
(Photo credit: Sam Houston Athletics)
Category: Recruiting
Filed to: Lamar Wilkerson
