Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
Related Biography: Basketball Player Gerald Wilkins
Wilkins’s younger brother, Gerald, began playing professional basketball
in 1985 as a guard for the New York Knicks. The brothers played on
the same team in 1999, when Dominique joined the Orlando Magic, for
which Gerald had been playing since 1996. Their time together with the
Magic was brief, as before the strike-shortened 1998-99 season ended,
both brothers had been released by the team.
Gerald Bernard Wilkins was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September
11, 1963. Unlike his older brother, Dominique, he played little basketball as a
boy. Wilkins played for the Washington (N.C.) High School team, but he was
unable to break into the starting lineup. The family moved to Atlanta shortly
before his senior year. There Wilkins played for Southwest High School.
Wilkins played one year at Moberly Area Junior College in Moberly,
Missouri, before moving to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. After
graduation, he was drafted by the New York Knicks in the second round of
the 1985 NBA draft. Wilkins played for the Knicks from 1985 to 1992, the
Cleveland Cavaliers from 1992 to 1995, the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995-96,
and the Orlando Magic from 1996 until 1999.
Pearlman, Jeff. “The Brothers’ Magic Act: For the First
Time in Their Long Careers, the Wilkinses Suit Up
on the Same Team.” Sports Illustrated (March 8,
1999): R4.
Other
“Dominique Wilkins Bio.” NBA History. http://www.
nba.com/history/players/wilkins_bio.html (December
9, 2002).
“Dominique Wilkins: Bio.” Dominique Wilkins Official
Website. http://www.humanhighlight.com/bio.php
(December 9, 2002).
“Dominique Wilkins: Career Averages.” ESPN. http://
espn.go.com/nba/profiles/stats/avg/0366.html (December
9, 2002).
Laura Wilkinson
1977-
American diver
Sketch by Don Amerman
Laura Wilkinson’s inspiring story captured many
hearts at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Wilkinson, a champion diver from the University of
Texas, broke her foot only months before the Olympics
but fought through the pain to defeat the heavily favored
Chinese divers for the gold medal. It was the first time
that an American woman had won a gold medal in platform
diving since 1964.
Laura Wilkinson
Wilkinson
Early Years
Wilkinson did not start diving competitively until she
was 16, but she had some background in aerial acrobatics
already: she had been a competitive gymnast until
she was 13. (In the intervening years she stayed active,
playing tennis, softball, and track and field.) She first
made the U.S. national diving team in 1995, while still
in high school, and that year she also won her first national
competition, in synchronized platform diving.
In 1996 Wilkinson began attending the University of
Texas and diving for their team. She became one of the
strongest divers in the United States, winning more
championships in synchronized platform and in her specialty,
solo platform diving, as well as in the 3-meter
springboard.
Olympic Hopes in Question
Wilkinson’s dream of competing in the 2000 Olympics
almost came to an end months before the Olympics
began. In March 2000 she hit her right foot against a
wooden board that she was jumping off of to practice her
dives on dry land. She fractured three metatarsal bones
and would require surgery.
The next day her coach, Ken Armstrong, knocked on
her door at six o’clock in the morning and told her that
he did not care if her foot had been amputated, she was
going to the Olympics. There was no way that Wilkinson
could have the surgery and still be ready to compete
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