[lawrence-newsletter]Wisconsin is announcing their 2020 class of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame over the next week, and it was Mike Wilkinson’s turn to hear the news yesterday. The former Badger basketball standout will be joining Wisconsin’s prestigious UW Athletic Hall of Fame after an excellent playing career from 2001-2005 in Madison.
Wilkinson was on teams where he may not have been the star, but it would he hard to argue there was a more important piece of the puzzle than the Wisconsin native. During his senior season in 2004-05, Wilkinson averaged over 14 points per contest to go along with over 7 rebounds. Although the headlines would often go to players such as Devin Harris or Alando Tucker during Wilkinson’s playing days in Madison, his importance was felt throughout the conference. In a recent uwbadgers.com piece by Mike Lucas, former Ohio University Coach Tim O’Shea had this to say:
“Mike Wilkinson is one of the most underrated players in the nation. He’s 6-8, he can rebound, he can shoot the 3, he can beat you off the dribble, he makes great decisions with the basketball. You talk about Wisconsin and you talk about Devin or Tucker. Wilkinson gets overlooked.”
The former Badger would go on to play in Russia, Turkey, and Bulgaria in a professional career that lasted from 2005 through 2014 overseas.
Wilkinson is now forever a member of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.