Willie Wilson finally made his much-awaited debut for the Builders Warehouse-University of Santo Tomas in the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup on Tuesday.
And that marked a dream that finally came true even though the Growling Tigers bowed to Centro Escolar University, 86-69.
“I chose UST because since I was a kid my dream was always to play overseas,” said the 6-foot-3 American guard who finished with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 15 minutes and 12 seconds on the floor.
“When I got the chance I felt like that was the best opportunity for me to get better, grow, and eventually get to the pro.”
Wilson was fresh out of Minneapolis North High School where he averaged 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in his last year.
So how did the Growling Tigers come into the picture? It was because of UST recruit Gani Stevens, Wilson’s teammate in Minneapolis North.
UST played UAAP Season 84 without a foreign student-athlete, ending with a 3-11 win-loss record, good for just seventh.
(C) Willie Wilson
“Gani, he played on the same team as me, and they were looking for an import and they contacted me and a few other of my teammates in high school.” shared Wilson, who arrived in the country just last Sunday, along with Stevens.
“But my other teammates already committed to schools or they don’t want to come as far so when I got the opportunity, I took it right away.”
Wilson, though, admitted that he needs to do a lot of adjusting to the Philippine style of basketball.
And he will have a lot of time as he will be eligible in the UAAP in Season 86, having to sit for one year of residency.
“I just need to work on pacing myself more, I feel like I go so fast so I get tired quickly so, pacing myself and just being able to break my defender off and shoot off the dribble because I feel like I can finish both ways.”
