The Georgia State men’s basketball team is made up of great athletes who were recruited to come together and share common goals: beat Georgia Southern, win the Sun Belt Conference and get into the NCAA Tournament.
New graduate Damon Wilson, who received his degree in speech communication, was a part of that journey until the season came to an abrupt stop.
An Atlanta native, the former ESPN Top 100 recruit grew up playing basketball with his older sister Dominique Wilson, who played basketball her whole life.
“She played basketball at North Carolina State,” Wilson said. “She then got drafted by the WNBA team Las Vegas Aces, and then after that went to play overseas; she’s back home now because of the virus.”
Along with growing up alongside his sister, his inspiration for basketball came from Wilson’s childhood, even going into middle school.
“I just fell in love with playing basketball,” Wilson said. “Going into middle school, I was considered the best.”
Although he and his older sister had different paths on their basketball journeys, Wilson, a sophomore at the time, decided to transfer from the University of Pittsburgh to Georgia State. News broke that his coach at the time was planning to leave the program and go somewhere else after the 2016 season.
At 6 feet, 5 inches and 190 pounds, Wilson took his talents back home and played with some of the best players to walk through the locker rooms.
His redshirt-senior season was his best as a college athlete, which opened up a number of doors for him.
Wilson was a massive contributor to the team, making 15 starts, including the last final four games of the season. He averaged 11.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and made 45 three-pointers, all of which were career-highs.
Prior to Georgia State, Wilson made the all-academic team in the 2015-16 academic year as a Pittsburgh Panther.
Wilson often looks up to current NBA superstar and Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook.
However, he also does not try to always model his game after anyone at the professional level, which allows him to complement his teammates on the court while playing fast at a high basketball IQ.
“It allows me to be unique, and I always remind myself to stay myself when playing,” Wilson said.
Wilson plans on taking the same journey his older sister took and going overseas to continue perfecting his game. Once basketball is done for him, he wants to take on sports broadcasting, which will allow him to be around the sport on a more intimate level.
