Cavalier Corner

ity to find people with his passing and be the guy defensively that gets things going — and just his hustle — is needed for us." Wilkins, who had a career-high 10 points and two assists off the bench in the 69-62 win over Clemson Jan. 19, said he doesn't care whether he starts. "It's whatever helps us win," he said. "I'm will- ing to do anything as long as we're playing the best basketball we can play." Wilkins grew up in the Atlanta area playing base- ball. He was a pitcher, focusing on the sport until the 10th grade. Wilkins attended Greater Atlanta Chris- tian, the same high school that produced Brogdon. When Brogdon was a senior, Wilkins was a fresh- man, though they never played on the same team since Wilkins wasn't on varsity. Bennett was at an AAU game to check out pros- pect Noah Dickerson (who is now at Washington) when Wilkins caught his eye. "In watching Noah, I started noticing how active Isaiah was," Bennett recalled. "He was OK with his shot from 15 to 17 feet, but was a terrific high-low passer. "In AAU basketball, sometimes it's not the tight- est defense, but he had a knack for helping Noah get a ton of buckets. It was just natural — those touch passes." When Wilkins, who led Greater Atlanta Christian to back-to-back Georgia AA state championships in 2013 and 2014, took his official visit to Virginia, Brogdon served as his host. Wilkins chose Virginia over Miami, Florida State, Memphis, Vanderbilt and SMU. He knew right away that UVA was the place for him. "It just felt like I was supposed to be here," said Wilkins, who committed a day into his visit. "It was like a big family." A family that is glad to have him. "He's someone who can help us a lot," Gill said. "If I'm not playing well or someone else in the start- ing lineup isn't playing well, he always comes in and steps it up." ◆

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