here's an article on damien wilkins, one of the "me" players that wolfpack fans love to hate. he and his father and uncle were the biggest distractions and pains in the ass to ever descend on nc state basketball. to start the legacy, as the nation's top prospect out of high school, damien wilkins originally signed with the wolfpack amid national fanfare and publicity, only to renege at the last moment when the bulldogs made a "better" offer. when damien came to state, his family descended on the state athletic dept and team locker room. the were there at game halftimes, offereing suggestions to herb on how to coach. they would complain about the way sendek used their protege, bitching to the media and drawing up plays for sendek to use in order to feature damien more effectively. finally, after his sophomore year, they announced that, since his talent wasn't being properly cultivated in raleigh, he would offer his overstated talents to the nba. funny thing was, they overlooked the fact that nba scounts didn't share their opinion, and damien ended withdrawing from early entry. the clan then strutted back to sendek"s office and announced that, like mcarthur, they had returned. to his everlasting credit, sendek told them they no longer figured in the wolfpack's plans an showed them the door. how pure the symmetry of justice that damien whines about "me" in the press while the wolfpack dances in orlando. just maybe damien's karma will carry through tonight.
________________________________________________
Having never made the NCAAs, senior settles for NIT ... again
Damien's disappointment
By Charles Shepard
charles.shepard@onlineathens.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damien Wilkins is the lone Georgia senior who has not been on a team to make the NCAA field of 65. He'll help lead the Bulldogs against Iowa State tonight at Ames' Hilton Coliseum in the NIT's first round.
Jeff Blake/Staff
Damien Wilkins has already been to the National Invitational Tournament.
He's already been to NIT Final Four.
Heck, he's already been to Ames, Iowa.
But it's where the Georgia senior hasn't been that kept him up late Sunday night.
''I wanted to be able to play in the (NCAA) tournament,'' Wilkins said. ''Things didn't go our way. It's a sad feeling for me personally.''
As a freshman, Wilkins helped lead N.C. State to the NIT Final Four at New York's Madison Square Garden. As a high school senior, he played in the McDonald's All-American game in Ames.
But now, Wilkins is the lone Georgia senior who has not been on a team to make the NCAA field of 65. He'll help lead the Bulldogs against Iowa State tonight at Ames' Hilton Coliseum in the NIT's first round.
When the Bulldogs weren't among the teams selected Sunday evening to play in college basketball's marquee event, he took it hard.
''It really hurt me,'' Wilkins said. ''It still hurts. It's been an amazing experience from just watching it. Now I'll never get to experience it (in person).''
Wilkins couldn't watch the selection show with his teammates in their Stegeman Coliseum meeting room. Instead, he took a walk around the stadium.
''I didn't want to see that,'' he said. ''I'd rather hear about it. If we had made it, I would have watched it again and again and again.''
Georgia's exclusion was another pothole on Wilkins' bumpy college ride.
Wilkins left Raleigh, N.C., after his sophomore season. A feud with Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek and the frustration of unmet expectations led to the departure.
N.C. State went to the NCAA tournament last season, which would have been Wilkins' senior year had he stayed.
''I don't have any regrets,'' Wilkins said. ''I'm happy they're doing well. But I think we've done well.''
Wilkins had to sit out his first season at Georgia under NCAA transfer rules. When Georgia went 19-8 and finished third in the SEC East last season, it looked like Wilkins' best chance to make the NCAA tournament, but school officials pulled the Bulldogs from the postseason in reaction to possible NCAA rules violations.
Normally a jokester in the locker room, Wilkins has been subdued, teammates said.
''I didn't know how to approach him,'' fellow senior Jonas Hayes said. ''I feel bad for him. But he's strong willed. We've got another agenda ahead of us.''
But his demeanor on the court has not changed, coach Dennis Felton said.
''He's back to himself, working hard,'' Felton said. ''He's good at that. He bounces back.''
Wilkins' family tradition at Georgia is one of NIT success, not NCAA. His high-flying uncle Dominique led the Bulldogs to their first postseason appearance in the 1981 NIT and then to the NIT Final Four the next season. Dominique Wilkins left to start his hall-of-fame-caliber career in the NBA in 1983, the same year Georgia made its only NCAA Final Four appearance.
Damien Wilkins speaks with the press outside of the men's locker room at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday after the NCAA tournament selections were announced.
R.C. Rique/Staff
But it's Damien Wilkins' strong ties with his father, former NBA star Gerald, that's helped him process the disappointment, Damien Wilkins said.
''I wanted him to get in worse than anybody,'' Gerald Wilkins said by telephone. Wilkins played in both the NIT and the NCAA tournament while playing at Tennessee-Chattanooga in the early 1980s.
''I really didn't feel that confident,'' he added. ''If they beat Kentucky (a third time), they should have had a legitimate shot to get in. But let's be real. I didn't think I had to tell him that. If you do the math, the chances (of Georgia) getting in were going to be tough.''
But if family tradition is any indication, the NIT can't be that bad. When Damien was asked about his uncle, he smiled and said:
''He turned out OK.''
________________________________________________
Having never made the NCAAs, senior settles for NIT ... again
Damien's disappointment
By Charles Shepard
charles.shepard@onlineathens.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damien Wilkins is the lone Georgia senior who has not been on a team to make the NCAA field of 65. He'll help lead the Bulldogs against Iowa State tonight at Ames' Hilton Coliseum in the NIT's first round.
Jeff Blake/Staff
Damien Wilkins has already been to the National Invitational Tournament.
He's already been to NIT Final Four.
Heck, he's already been to Ames, Iowa.
But it's where the Georgia senior hasn't been that kept him up late Sunday night.
''I wanted to be able to play in the (NCAA) tournament,'' Wilkins said. ''Things didn't go our way. It's a sad feeling for me personally.''
As a freshman, Wilkins helped lead N.C. State to the NIT Final Four at New York's Madison Square Garden. As a high school senior, he played in the McDonald's All-American game in Ames.
But now, Wilkins is the lone Georgia senior who has not been on a team to make the NCAA field of 65. He'll help lead the Bulldogs against Iowa State tonight at Ames' Hilton Coliseum in the NIT's first round.
When the Bulldogs weren't among the teams selected Sunday evening to play in college basketball's marquee event, he took it hard.
''It really hurt me,'' Wilkins said. ''It still hurts. It's been an amazing experience from just watching it. Now I'll never get to experience it (in person).''
Wilkins couldn't watch the selection show with his teammates in their Stegeman Coliseum meeting room. Instead, he took a walk around the stadium.
''I didn't want to see that,'' he said. ''I'd rather hear about it. If we had made it, I would have watched it again and again and again.''
Georgia's exclusion was another pothole on Wilkins' bumpy college ride.
Wilkins left Raleigh, N.C., after his sophomore season. A feud with Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek and the frustration of unmet expectations led to the departure.
N.C. State went to the NCAA tournament last season, which would have been Wilkins' senior year had he stayed.
''I don't have any regrets,'' Wilkins said. ''I'm happy they're doing well. But I think we've done well.''
Wilkins had to sit out his first season at Georgia under NCAA transfer rules. When Georgia went 19-8 and finished third in the SEC East last season, it looked like Wilkins' best chance to make the NCAA tournament, but school officials pulled the Bulldogs from the postseason in reaction to possible NCAA rules violations.
Normally a jokester in the locker room, Wilkins has been subdued, teammates said.
''I didn't know how to approach him,'' fellow senior Jonas Hayes said. ''I feel bad for him. But he's strong willed. We've got another agenda ahead of us.''
But his demeanor on the court has not changed, coach Dennis Felton said.
''He's back to himself, working hard,'' Felton said. ''He's good at that. He bounces back.''
Wilkins' family tradition at Georgia is one of NIT success, not NCAA. His high-flying uncle Dominique led the Bulldogs to their first postseason appearance in the 1981 NIT and then to the NIT Final Four the next season. Dominique Wilkins left to start his hall-of-fame-caliber career in the NBA in 1983, the same year Georgia made its only NCAA Final Four appearance.
Damien Wilkins speaks with the press outside of the men's locker room at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday after the NCAA tournament selections were announced.
R.C. Rique/Staff
But it's Damien Wilkins' strong ties with his father, former NBA star Gerald, that's helped him process the disappointment, Damien Wilkins said.
''I wanted him to get in worse than anybody,'' Gerald Wilkins said by telephone. Wilkins played in both the NIT and the NCAA tournament while playing at Tennessee-Chattanooga in the early 1980s.
''I really didn't feel that confident,'' he added. ''If they beat Kentucky (a third time), they should have had a legitimate shot to get in. But let's be real. I didn't think I had to tell him that. If you do the math, the chances (of Georgia) getting in were going to be tough.''
But if family tradition is any indication, the NIT can't be that bad. When Damien was asked about his uncle, he smiled and said:
''He turned out OK.''
