ATHENS — There will be a No. 21 again running down the court in a Georgia uniform at Stegeman Coliseum.
Jacob Wilkins, the son of Georgia basketball legend Dominique Wilkins, committed to the Bulldogs on Tuesday afternoon.
Wilkins, a junior at Grayson High School, said, “Go Dawgs, University of Georgia,” in announcing his decision on YouTube.
“I just feel at home,” he said. “I trust everyone there. I know I come in there with a (prominent) last name, but I know I will make my own name going there, not just being the son of Dominique Wilkins.
Wilkins is a Class of 2025 recruit and a 4-star-rated prospect.
Georgia coach Mike White assured the younger Wilkins that he will be allowed to wear his father’s No. 21 jersey, according to people with knowledge of the recruitment. No player has sported the No. 21 for the Bulldogs since Toney Mack wore it from 1986-88. UGA retired Dominique Wilkins’ jersey number in 1991.
Jacob Wilkins becomes the first pledge for the Class of 2025. He will become the third member of the Wilkins’ family to play for the Bulldogs. Damien Wilkins, the son of Dominique’s brother, Gerald, played for Georgia in 2003-04 and was a co-captain on that team.
Jacob said he will be next. “I’d like to thank my dad for always being my right-hand man,” he said Tuesday. “Making sure I’m doing the right thing.”
However, it never was automatic that Wilkins would go to Georgia. His brother – and Dominique’s stepson – Isaiah Wilkins played for Virginia from 2015-18 and is an assistant on coach Tony Bennett’s staff.
So what will the Bulldogs be getting in Jacob Wilkins. Well, physically at least, he’s built almost exactly like his father was when he signed with Georgia coach Hugh Durham in 1980. Wilkins alternately is listed at 6-foot-7 and 6-9 on various basketball recruiting sites, rosters and in published reports. He’s very thin at the moment, weighing between 165 and 180 pounds, depending on the listing.
Wilkins is a consensus 4-star recruiting prospect, garnering that rating from 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3. His highest national ranking is No. 16 by 247Sports, with a low of No. 84 from Rivals. All include him among their top 11 small forwards in the country, with a best rating of No. 4 from 247Sports.
Wilkins is listed by the Gwinnett Daily Post as having averaged 18 points and eight rebounds at Parkview High as a sophomore last year. He is expected to play at Grayson.
Of course, few players have been greater than Wilkins’ father, who is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He is considered the greatest player to play both for Georgia and for the Hawks.
At Georgia, Dominique was a three-time consensus All-SEC selection and two-time All-American. He averaged 21.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in three seasons with the Bulldogs.
A first-round draft choice of the Utah Jazz in 1982, he scored 26,668 points during his NBA career. He was internationally known as “The Human Highlight Reel” for his flashy, rim-rattling dunks.
Credit: Joe Holloway Jr
Credit: Joe Holloway Jr
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