Make no mistake, James Wilkins knows basketball. He’s known it
his whole life, and on multiple continents.
Yes, James Wilkins knows basketball. He’s known it his whole life, and on multiple continents.
The current assistant boys’ coach at Gilroy High – and the cousin of NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins – once starred at San Jose High. He went on to shine at San Diego State, and then took his act to Germany, where he became a living legend 30 years ago and where he remains one to this day.
So basketball is his sport. It’s his love. It does have, and will always have, a special place in his heart.
It’s not what makes him tick, though.
People are what make the energetic, optimistic, much-loved Wilkins tick. People are his passion.
“Being such a people-person, he’s able to show his love of the sport – and that really comes through,” said his wife of 26 years, Susanne Wilkins. “That’s where he gets his energy. That’s where he gets all his joy.”
It’s simply his way of giving back. That’s the way the 57-year-old James Wilkins looks at it.
Three years ago, then-Gilroy coach Mike Baumgartner put an ad in the paper for an assistant coach. Wilkins, who had coached his two kids in recreation leagues for years, said “something happened” when he noticed the job listing.
“I don’t know what it was, but I just thought, ‘Wow, I’d really like to help,'” he recalled. “I just felt really compelled to try and give back to basketball what it gave to me as a youngster.”
One of the things it gave him was fame. Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1971, Wilkins instead opted for Germany, where he became one of the first Americans to play in that country’s top league. During that time, he also toured with an American All-Star team playing a Russian All-Star squad.
In Germany, he acquired almost cult-like status. For five seasons, he dazzled the country’s basketball fans with a high-flying flair that produced yearly scoring averages in the 30s.
“He’s still a legend over there, believe it or not,” said Susanne Wilkins, a German native who moved to California with her future husband in 1978. “We visit there often and people still recognize him on the street. Even the younger generation does, which I think is a pretty special thing.”
Don’t tell him that, though.
For Wilkins, a systems analyst for the aviation electronics company Rockwell Collins, what’s special in life is the time he gets to spend with the Gilroy varsity team after a long day of work that routinely begins with an alarm clock ringing at 4 in the morning.
“I enjoy it a lot,” Wilkins said of his coaching experience. “I have a sense of serenity out here on this court. It’s like I belong in this gym. I would love to remain with this program for as long as they would have me.”
As long as Bud Ogden is the Mustangs’ head coach, that won’t even be an issue.
“Talk about one in a million … he is one in a million,” said Ogden, whose brother Ralph competed against Wilkins while playing in Germany. “I don’t think I’ve ever known anybody quite like him. He is just pure energy – and he’s got such a great heart.
“Whatever it is we do here, we couldn’t do it without him. The kids absolutely love the guy.
“And I love him, too.”
According to GHS senior guard Calvin Kretz, it’s hard not to love the always-smiling, always-enthusiastic Wilkins.
“He brings a lot of energy and he’s just such a good motivator,” the co-captain said. “Coach Wilkins is always the first one to tell you, ‘Great job.’ And when you’re having trouble with your shot or you’re feeling down, he can tell you’re feeling down and he’ll bring you back up. He’s more a friend than anything.”
That kind of comment is music to the ears of the still-spry Wilkins, who often practices right alongside the team and says he tries hard to place himself in his players’ shoes.
“I think it’s an honor to have the boys’ affection,” Wilkins said. “I’m not trying to do anything extra, but I do think I can relate to them player-to-player and the kids seem to understand that. Some coaches are way up here and the players are way down below. To me, you have to try to be on their level.
“So am I hyper? Yeah, I’m a bit hyper. But coach Ogden is tremendously patient with me. He lets me do my thing.”
Whatever that “thing” is, it works.
“It works because it’s sincere,” Susanne Wilkins said. “James has that sincerity about him. You can feel it and you can see it, and you know it’s not fake.
“He’s just a very compassionate person. I think it’s that warmth that people really appreciate.”
Nobody seems to appreciate that more than his two teenage kids, both of whom play basketball for Gilroy High.
Fourteen-year-old Vanessa is the high-energy sparkplug for the GHS freshmen team. Her more reserved brother Dominik, two years older, is the junior point guard for the Mustangs’ varsity squad.
In terms of personality, Vanessa is all but a clone of her father.
“We’re pretty much exact twins,” she said. “That’s where I get all my energy from.”
In terms of affection, though, she and Dominik seem equally adoring of their dad. Both of them used the term “best friend” when asked about the man they say only gets angry while watching his beloved San Francisco Giants on television.
“It’s just a blessing being with him,” Dominik said. “For me, he’s a teacher, a role model and a best friend … and I think that’s pretty rare.
“He’s just a guy that everybody looks up to, because he’s always there for everyone in need. He’s always there for the team and for my teammates. And he’s glad to do it, too.”
Because he’s “a considerate man,” Vanessa said, “I can talk to him about anything … the same with my mom.
“I couldn’t ask for better people to be my parents.”
Of course, the juggling act isn’t always easy. With his commitment to the varsity program, James is forced to miss some of his daughter’s games, which he said “is the hard part about it.”
According to Vanessa, though, it’s tougher on her father than it is on her.
“It’s OK, because I understand he has an obligation to that team and those players,” she said. “It’s also OK because he’s there in my heart – he’s there even when he’s not at the games.
“He doesn’t have to be there for me to know that. He’s always there for me.”
Always there. Always positive. Always with a smile.
It’s just the Wilkins way.
