A week before his senior season began, in a span of back-to-back days, Alex Wilkins’ world caved in on him.
On Nov. 27, the Brooks star broke his wrist, forcing him out indefinitely. A day later, on Thanksgiving, Wilkins tragically lost his grandfather, who was a pivotal figure in his basketball journey. Wilkins suddenly faced overwhelming adversity, but he never cratered.
Wilkins (Charlestown, Mass.) ultimately missed the first month of the season with his wrist injury, and when he returned, he used the memory of his grandfather to push him to the mountaintop. He remembered the talks with his grandfather, the phone conversations about scoring 1,000 career points, going to college and winning a Class B championship. He did it all. Wilkins – our first Class B Player of the Year – overcame one of the hardest periods of his life to honor his family as a champion.
“I’m definitely blessed. We talk a lot about going through adversity, so just being able to fight adversity, being resilient,” Wilkins said. “There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, so being able to get through a tough time and get some sunshine at the end was really a blessing. …
“Just being able to accomplish the things that we talked about in our last couple conversations was definitely something that helped me a lot and get through the season. … Really just sticking to being a man of my word, doing everything I said I was going to get done for him. Just being able to finish what we talked about, and continue to make my family proud.”
Wilkins, who will head to play at Furman next season, wrote a legendary capstone to his high school career. He averaged 25.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists, willed his team into the playoffs and then took his game to the next level as he lifted Brooks to a memorable championship. His epic game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds to go to beat rival Rivers will live forever in program lore.
It was certainly a process to get to that point. He mourned the loss of his grandfather by getting closer to God. The injury was a bitter pill to swallow for the uber-competitive Wilkins, but he stayed engaged in his absence from the court. He remained joyful whenever he was in the gym, and became a better leader from the sidelines. He even discovered he may want to coach one day as he took pride in directing his teammates and lifting their confidence.
But when he returned after winter break, it took some time to gel with his teammates again. Wilkins came back with big scoring games, but head coach Kenya Jones said it didn’t mesh well to start. Wilkins had returned to a struggling team, and they dropped three more games to fall to 3-8. Jones sensed Wilkins was trying to do a little too much, and it took about a week and a half for the team’s rhythm to get back.
Championship was always the goal for this talented Brooks team, but Jones said he didn’t fully know exactly how much they needed Wilkins.
“I didn’t realize how pivotal to the heart and soul of these guys,” Jones said. “They just needed him. Once he started to fit back into everything, we went on a little run.”
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The wins started coming, but Brooks had a lot of work to do to make the playoffs after digging itself an early-season hole. It required some more patience. There were talks between Jones and Wilkins about his shot selection, building trust on how to attack defenses and his teammates kept him accountable if he went off script.
They managed to figure it out together, and Wilkins saved his best performances for the end. He erupted for a program record 47 points in a crucial late-season win over Roxbury Latin, and they did enough to get into the playoffs despite a 12-13 regular-season record. Wilkins never panicked, and deferred more credit to his teammates like Emersen Davis, Trokon Harris and Riley Clarke.
“There wasn’t one moment I doubted my team,” Wilkins said. “I knew we were going to get to that point, it was just a matter of time with injuries and stuff like that, that we made it all click.”
But make no mistake, it wouldn’t have happened without Wilkins, who went on a legendary playoff run. Brooks, the No. 6 seed, reeled off three consecutive comeback wins away from home – including a 20-point deficit to Canterbury – to claim glory. Wilkins was the catalyst, averaging 30 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the postseason, hitting absurd shot after shot. His heroic game-winner in the championship with three seconds to go, a pull-up from at least 30 feet, was the product of years of work and confidence. Wilkins praised Hugh Coleman, his former head coach at Charlestown High School, for instilling his work ethic and routine 6 a.m. workouts that made that moment possible.
Jones stood motionless on the sideline when the shot went through.
“I wasn’t surprised,” the coach said. “He practices those. I’ve been seeing this for two years, so I see it on a daily basis. I know what he’s capable of. It was a matter of unlocking that and figuring out how to get him into spots when he’s being defended differently or who he’s being defended by. … Those are routine.”
Jones struggled to come up with the words when asked to describe Wilkins’ season. He remembers the first meeting he had with Wilkins two years ago, and the point guard telling him how he wanted to win everything. Jones told him he’d coach him differently than any other player, but he never expected how it would transpire. The run he put together, capped by his game-winning shot, was incredible enough, but to do it after the adversity he had overcome, made it that much more extraordinary.
“It’s awe-inspiring,” Jones said. “For him to put the team on his back and actually walk out and do it, it’s pretty special. I don’t know if you can rewrite that kind of story. And to do it on that last shot — every kid counts down, five, four, three, and you turn around and hit a fadeaway to win a championship shot as a kid. He did that for his last high school shot. I’m speechless. I don’t have the words for it. I’m happy to be a part of it.”
