NO SIBLING RIVALRY
NFL star’s younger sister steps into national spotlight ahead of Stanford’s semifinal showdown
» NFL quarterback Russell Wilson cheers sister Anna and Stanford .
The television cameras can’t get enough of Russell Wilson. The NFL quarterback is on his feet, decked out in his Stanford gear, exhorting the Cardinal, encouraging the other Stanford fans, high-fiving his wife Ciara, yelling loudly for his sister Anna.
Cameras love a superstar. But the road to the spotlight is often done in the shadows.
Within the Wilson family and now outside of it in a Final Four showcase, Anna Wilson is a star. The fifth-year senior is, as her head coach Tara VanDerveer says, “what college sports is all about.”
About overcoming adversity, growing and maturing. About becoming a leader both on and off the court. About persevering.
Wilson’s reward comes Friday, when her team will play South Carolina in a semifinal in San Antonio, with a chance to advance to the national championship on the line.
“What goes on right now, is that a lot of players want instant success,” VanDerveer said this week. “And basketball is kind of a slow-cooking game. It’s not instant oatmeal. It’s the slow kind.
“And Anna is a great example of someone dealing with adversity, being resilient and determined and being persistent and staying with it.”
Slow-cooking oatmeal can be one of women’s basketball’s greatest selling points. The men’s game is a turnstile to the pros, with fewer and fewer players whom fans can recognize from season to season. The women’s game creates beloved story lines, of growth and development and following a player’s path. The excitement of seeing freshmen like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and Stanford’s Cameron Brink mature over the coming seasons will be a huge draw.
And then there are stories like Wilson’s. Almost 10 years younger than her famous older brother (they also have an older brother, Harry), Wilson was in grade school when their father died from complications of diabetes at 55.
She moved during high school to Seattle — to be near Russell — where she was a standout basketball player. She accepted an offer to Stanford, but then suffered a concussion in the McDonald’s All-American Game and dealt with concussion symptoms through her freshman year. Her brother connected her with a specialist in Florida. As she was getting better, she suffered a foot injury and was on the bench during Stanford’s last Final Four run, in 2017.
She rarely started and found her value on defense, coming on the floor as a stopper. She began to take a leadership role last season and, coming into her own, decided to apply to the NCAA for a fifth year. Her request was rejected, a decision she was going to accept until Russell urged her to appeal.
She did. And then the pandemic hit.
She moved in with Russell and worked out with him. She was granted her fifth year. And she has leaned into her leadership role.
“I am so thankful her appeal was approved,” VanDerveer said. “She has matured as a player and as a person. She’s doing a great job as a leader.”
Now, Wilson is taking all those challenges and struggles and years of growth and applying them.
“When the word ‘perseverance’ comes to mind, Anna is the first person I think of,” Russell Wilson told Michelle Smith of Pac-12.com. “She has persevered through so much, from being young when our dad passed away, to juggling so many different things, to being a McDonald’s All-American and then getting a concussion and not being able to play.
“It was really tough on her, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But she is a winner by nature. It’s in the bloodline.”
Wilson and the team’s other two seniors — Kianna Williams and Alyssa Jerome — took ownership of the Cardinal, starting small group chats during the pandemic and forging bonds. That closeness served them well as they embarked on the challenging odyssey of the 2020-21 season.
“Being able to stay together, making sure we’re not just sitting in our room alone,” Wilson said this week. “There are a lot of things that could have gone on this season, especially around mental health. Our team being able to (stay engaged) for 10 weeks has served us well in the time here.”
Like her brother, Wilson exhibits a rare maturity and perspective. She is not taking anything for granted.
“Pressure is a funny thing to talk about,” she said when asked about a potential title. “This is an opportunity for us to do something really special. Pressure is people who are struggling from this past year, just regular life with COVID and all the other viruses in the world.”
Wilson spoke of the weirdness of being tested nine times a week, of not seeing family, of being isolated.
“I think with that framework, it allows you to play much more loose and in the moment,” she said. “I was saying today, be where your feet are. That’s the most important thing. Staying in the moment.
“We’re having fun. It’s just basketball.”
The slow-cooking kind of basketball. For Wilson, the timing has been perfect.
Ann Killion is a columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle.