Wilson inspired by words of wisdom from papa Harbaugh
Being a NCAA D1 athlete definitely has its perks, including the glitz of playing on TV and the glamour of rubbing elbows with influential people.
Marquette basketball player Derrick Wilson of Anchorage recently met with the school’s associate athletic director Jack Harbaugh, a longtime college football coach who is also known for having two sons face off as coaches in a Super Bowl.
Harbaugh, 75, spoke to the team during a break at a team workout.
“He might be the best storyteller I have heard in my lifetime,” Wilson told the school’s website. “I can go on and on about the amount of wisdom he gave to us, but I’ll break down to the five main ingredients to become successful – discipline, attitude, enthusiasm, perseverance and persistence.
“By being great in these five areas every day, individually and as a group, we will help accomplish things that people doubt we can do. He fired us up.”
Wilson, of East High fame, will enter his senior season this fall and is the starting point guard for Marquette. He’s also the first Alaska man to play basketball in the mighty Big East Conference.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is a durable, defensive dynamo and one of the best perimeter defenders in the country. He stops dribble penetration, clogs passing lanes and plays physical.
He logged a career-high 47 minutes in a double-OT loss to St. John’s in the last game of the 2014 season. He also collected a game-high nine assists and grabbed six rebounds.
Wilson last season set career highs in points [14], assists [10], rebounds [9] and steals [6].
Marquette held two team camps last week as the Golden Eagles look to get back to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season.
Wilson is certainly up for the challenge, especially after meeting with Jack Harbaugh.
“The last thing he said to us was, ‘there are two kinds of people in this world, gamers and non-gamers, you choose which one you want to be.’” Wilson said. “Being a gamer is what I am choosing. Being great every day is far from easy, but as Mr. Harbaugh put it, ‘as long as you’re getting one-percent better every day, that’s a successful day.’”