Former King star carving niche in NBA front office
Two years. That’s all Mike Wilks was going to give his dream of reaching the NBA.
In 2001 the former Milwaukee King basketball star was on the verge of graduating from Rice University after a standout college career, but pro basketball wasn’t initially on his radar. He had even applied for a real job before he realized he wasn’t ready to leave the game.
Almost two decades later Wilks has yet to put that economics degree to use.
This upcoming basketball season will be his 18th year cashing checks through the game. Since the end of a 10-year run as a player that included stops with six NBA teams, Wilks has settled into his second career as part of the front office of the Oklahoma City Thunder scouting department.
“I’m still riding the wave,” he said. “It’s God’s grace. I give him glory. My journey, for me, has been a tremendous faith journey for me.”
It is a basketball life that will be celebrated Saturday when Wilks is inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in Wisconsin Dells.
Wilks is part of a large contingent of area players who will be inducted that include former long-time NBA player Terry Porter, who played at Milwaukee South, former Milwaukee Public School superintendent Howard Fuller, a Milwaukee North grad, and former Pius XI and Wisconsin Badger standout Mike Kelley.
A 5-foot-10 point guard, Wilks didn’t have eye-popping statistics – he averaged 13.6 points per game as a senior – but his ability to attack the basket as well as his leadership and play in the clutch were attention grabbers for opposing coaches. His senior year he claimed the Mr. Basketball honor as the state’s top player from the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association as well as the Associated Press state player of the year.
The year capped a prep career in which he led King to the state tournament as a junior and as a sophomore was a reserve on the 1995 state championship team. That King couldn’t make it back state his senior year still eats at him, but his memories of the City Conference and of King are sweet.
“I think I had more fun at King than I actually did in college,” he said. “King was some of the most fun, best times of my life.”
At Rice he became one of the school’s top scorers. He still ranks as the school’s top 20 with 1,300 points.
“I was probably a senior and my college coach at Rice, Willis Wilson, said ‘Do you want to play in the NBA?. … ’ ” Wilks recalled. “He was like ‘You’ve got to want it.’ I said if it happens, it happens, but he challenged me on it and I ended up having
“I think I had more fun at King than I actually did in college. King was some of the most fun, best times of my life.”
Mike Wilks
a really good senior year.”
Wilks averaged 20.1 points per game and was named the Western Athletic Conference player of the year by College Insider.
That season set the foundation for an NBA career that started in Atlanta and eventually took him to Minnesota, Houston, San Antonio, Cleveland, Seattle and finally Oklahoma City. He was part of the Spurs’ NBA championship team in 2004-'05. Wilks also had a stint with the Milwaukee Bucks during the preseason in 2002.
Most of the time he wore jersey No. 29, a nod to not only his old neighborhood but also his days coming up through the LaVarnway and Mary Ryan Boys and Girls Clubs.
“The 29th street playground was right behind my house, across the alley,” he said. “To me that was just a tribute to all the people who shared and sowed seeds into my life.”
Wilks’ career stats were modest – he averaged 2.5 points per game – but his exposure to the league opened the door to his second career.
Two years after he last played for OKC, he learned of scouting position that opened in the Thunder front office and went after the job. That was 2012. He is entering his seventh season with the organization.
“I do pro personnel scouting on the front office side, looking at guys for trades and free agency, so I primarily scout the NBA, also some international pros as well as some G-League,” he said.
Wilks usually makes it back a few times a year between scouting NBA games and summer visits. For years, he and other 29th street alumni ran a free basketball camp. The foundation didn’t have a camp this past summer, but it still awarded scholarships.
Wilks, along with his wife and 10- and 8-year-old sons, plans to get town this weekend for the ceremony.
It will be a time to celebrate one of the City Conference’s great players. It will also be an opportunity for him to show his appreciation
“I want to say thank you to all the people who played a part in my life,” he said.