Son of legendary Dominique Wilkins following father's footsteps to Georgia basketball
A player with a last name considered royalty in Georgia basketball lore has made plans to suit up in Athens.
Jacob Wilkins, son of former Bulldog and Naismith Memorial Basketball and National Collegiate Basketball hall of famer Dominique Wilkins, announced his commitment Tuesday evening to play for coach Mike White. He revealed his decision on the On3 Recruits YouTube channel.
"I just feel at home," Jacob Wilkins said. "I trust everyone there. I come in there with a last name but I know I'll make my own name going there. Not just being the son of Dominque Wilkins, but Jacob Wilkins."
The 6-foot-9, 167-pound small forward is a four-star prospect for the 2025 class and will begin his junior season at Grayson High School.
He’s ranked the nation’s No. 40 overall prospect in his class.
His other finalist was Virginia. Alabama, Indiana and Cincinnati were other schools he considered. Virginia assistant Isaiah Wilkins is the stepson of Dominique Wilkins who was known as “The Human Highlight Film."
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Wilkins transferred to Grayson from Parkview High School.
“He can dunk like his dad,” Parkview coach Jon Collins said. “He’s a great above the rim guy in transition. His length obviously caused problems for guys to just score period.”
Dominique Wilkins led Georgia in scoring three straight seasons from 1979-82 before the All-American starred for the Atlanta Hawks where he works on the team’s TV broadcasts.
He said on the Hawks pregame show Monday night that Jacob "has become a heck of a young player. He's almost 6-11 now at 17 years old. I couldn't be more proud of him and his focus and the love of the game. We want him to continue to carry on that Wilkins name."
Dominique Wilkins averaged 21.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his Bulldog career. He said that Jacob Wilkins will wear No. 21 like he did. The jersey has been retired.
“I’ve seen highlights of my dad for sure,” Jacob Wilkins, told On3.com in January. “We both can jump out of the gym and are threats in transition. He’s helped me focus on making sure everything I do is one hundred percent. There was some pressure to live up to the Wilkins name when I was younger, but as I got older, I’ve gotten used to it.”
Dominique Wilkins’ nephew, Damien, played for Georgia from 2002-04 and was co-captain as a senior, averaging 12.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game before playing in the NBA for 10 seasons. Damien Wilkins is now general manager, for Overtime Elite.
Jacob Wilkins played his freshman season at Heritage High.
He showed inconsistency as a sophomore at Parkview as a shooter, Collins said, but scored 26 against Newton. He shied away from contact inside.
“I had him as a sophomore so he just made a lot of sophomore mistakes,” Collins said. “You hope to get those out of your system for the next couple of years so you can keep building.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Jacob Wilkins, son of Dominique, commits to Georgia basketball
