KU basketball’s Jalen Wilson teams with sponsor to donate $10,000 to YMCA in Brooklyn
Former Kansas basketball small forward Jalen Wilson recently surprised young fans of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets by holding a one-day clinic at the Dodge YMCA on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.
During a break in the action at the camp — one in which Nets rookie Wilson went over fundamental skills with the youngsters — he and one of his sponsors, Wilson Sporting Goods (no relation), presented YMCA officials with a check for $10,000.
Wilson the company pledged $5,000 to the YMCA with $100 pledged for each point scored and $50 for each assist dished by Wilson in the Las Vegas Summer League, the final total to be maxed out at $10,000.
The 22-year-old Wilson, a starter on KU’s 2022 NCAA title team and No. 1-seeded team in the 2023 tourney, earned second-team all-Summer League mention after averaging 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the (3-2) Nets. He had 88 total points and 13 assists.
The Nets selected the 6-foot-8 Wilson in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft at No. 51 overall.
Wilson told SNY.tv that he spent “almost every day” as a youngster at the YMCA near his hometown of Denton, Texas.
“I saw my love for basketball just keep growing and growing and growing throughout that entire process,” Wilson told SNY.tv. “This was a great way to give back to a place (YMCA) that I felt help build me up as a kid,” Wilson added.
Wilson — his generosity was also evident at KU when he took the lead on a project that raised $17,000 (of his and KU teammates’ money) for Lawrence Family Promise, a nonprofit that combats homelessness — has spent most of his time in Brooklyn since the June 22 Draft. He’s been working out at the team’s practice facility and bonding with his new NBA teammates and coaches, including former KU guard Jacque Vaughn, head coach of the Nets.
“Coming to a new place, new city, new organization obviously very different from Kansas, I think it was important for me to get around, get to know everybody,” Wilson told SNY.tv “This is my job now, so I feel like if I’m going to do it, I’ve got to do it the right way. And that’s meeting everybody, building a relationship with everybody and just being around.”
Wilson, who has a two-way contract with the Nets, thinks he’s figured out how to stay with the NBA team more than the squad’s G League team, the Long Island Nets, during the 2023-24 campaign.
“Being able to stick to rebounding, defending, playing hard, knocking down shots. Half of it is just going out there and playing hard and half of it is just the work that you put in,” Wilson said.
“I don’t even need the ball to contribute. There’s so many different ways to help winning in basketball. And I was able to learn that (at Kansas). Winning a championship, I was the third or fourth option on the team. I’ve got to guard everybody, I’ve got to get loose balls, hustle plays, things that most guys don’t want to do. I’ve been inspired to want it to be part of my game.”
Of Nets coach Vaughn, Wilson said: “Me coming from a school like Kansas, coach Vaughn understands that no matter who is there, there’s a standard. And I feel like he wants to build that standard (with the Nets),” Wilson said. “I know I’m a rookie, but being 22, about to be 23 years old, I feel like I’m mature enough to be able to share my experiences and understand that when you have a culture, you have a foundation that you can do anything. Me being able to present that and being able to execute it on and off the floor, I feel like that’s an advantage I have.”
According to the New York Post, only about 1/4 of all second-round picks make it in the NBA. Shooting is key for guards and wings, and Wilson cashed 45.8% of his 3s in summer-league ball in Vegas after hitting 33.7% in 2022-23 at KU.
“Including pre-draft and the time we had in Brooklyn before going (to Las Vegas in July for summer league), it was anywhere from like 600 to 700 shots daily,” Wilson told the New York Post. “I’d just stick to the same shots. I wouldn’t change them. I’d shoot all the shots I shoot in the game.
“All the 3s I took were the same shots that I shot in practice and workouts, so it just became second nature as far as knowing where I am on the court, knowing how fast I’ve got to get it off. I credit that to how I was able to perform.”
He is motivated to succeed.
“I play with a huge chip always,” Wilson told the Post. “I don’t take the game for granted. No matter who I’m playing, I use it as an opportunity to showcase what I can do and the game I love. It’s brought me so many different things in my life, I feel like I owe it to play that hard. That’d be the main thing people will notice is the winning mentality and the plays I make.”
Nets general manager Sean Marks says Wilson has made a great first impression on the coaches, staff and players in Brooklyn.
“Jalen, you can see the high IQ. You can see how he plays. He’s got a great feel for the game,” Marks told the New York Post. “I think the team enjoys playing with a guy like Jalen. His shot ... he’s working on his consistency. If he can continue to knock that down like he has, you’re looking at an NBA player. So that’s exciting for us. Obviously the pedigree he comes from, he’s been coached well, coached hard and has a championship pedigree. That’s exciting for us.”
Of Wilson’s shot, Nets assistant coach Trevor Hendry told the Post: “When he shoots with confidence, I have confidence it’s going to go in. Whenever he hesitates or has a little doubt in his mind, that’s when he gets in trouble. ... His ability to get into the paint and kick out (is huge). ... He can rebound, he can push it, and on the offensive end, the decisions he made were great (at summer league).”
