CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Chattanooga's most prominent men's basketball player returned to the Chattanooga area Monday to help out the Mocs' program.
Former Moc and 13-year National Basketball Association veteran Gerald Wilkins was Head Coach John Shulman's special guest at the Second Annual Chattanooga Basketball Golf Classic at Lookout Mountain Golf Club.
“Gerald is the face of Chattanooga Basketball,” Shulman said. “It's not coaches, it's players. Whatever home I go into, I talk about Gerald Wilkins. I had never met Gerald. And Gerald wasn't a part of it. I watched his career, 13 years in the NBA and what he did for Chattanooga. I gave him a call, and here he is. He wants to be part of the family, and we're awfully happy to have him back up here today.”
Wilkins met with the media prior to a luncheon then posed for a group photo with every foursome at the No. 1 tee box.
Wilkins starred for the Mocs and Head Coach Murray Arnold from 1982 to 1985. He is tied for second in career scoring at UTC with 1,449 points and holds the single-season points record with 672 in 1984-85.
He led the Mocs to two Southern Conference titles, an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1983 and two NIT berths. He was a second-round NBA Draft pick by the New York Knicks in 1985 and enjoyed a stellar 13-year career with the Knicks, Cleveland, Toronto and Orlando. The younger brother of University of Georgia and NBA great Dominique Wilkins, he recorded over 11,700 points while playing in over 900 NBA games.
Now that he is retired from the NBA, Wilkins hinted about joining the Mocs program in some capacity.
“I appreciate John,” Wilkins said. “He's gotten my juices flowing in terms of being a part of this program from a coaching standpoint, a player development standpoint, and the timing was right because I recently retired from the league over the last four or five years. And as you know, it takes three or four years to get that whole NBA playing and traveling -- you want to spend time with your family.
“My son is a pro now, and I wanted to spend that time with him. And now that he's in the pros and things are going well for him, I can kind of separate myself from that now. Now that's out of the way and I can do my thing, and this is perfect timing for me.”
Wilkins added that he was not far from finishing his bachelor's degree, and he plans on doing so at UTC. His coaching opportunities at the college level are limited, however, without that degree.
“The one thing he wants is to come back and get his degree,” Shulman said. “That's great. He's going to come back and get his degree, and he will be a highly sought-after guy on this level. But he's going to have an opportunity. The guy is fantastic. He's fantastic on the court, fantastic with people and he's going to have the opportunity to do what he wants to do.”
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Wilkins currently trains and counsels NBA players. He also owns and runs a development and educational company called PREP ? Players Returning to Educate Players.
