By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Matt Wilson is having a hard time getting to the gym and working on his basketball skills this summer. Like most student-athletes attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he’s assigned details and duties that come before anything else.
Wilson, a three-year starter on the West Point basketball team, won’t even get a break on the Fourth of July. While most of the country is celebrating the patriotic holiday, he’ll be working on campus with drill instructors who conduct basic training for incoming cadets.
“I haven’t had a Fourth of July off since I’ve been at West Point,” he said. “It’s kind of funny how that works out.”
Several college basketball teams recruited Wilson while he played at Campbell County High School. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound post player had double-figure averages in both points and rebounds in his junior and senior seasons.
He finished his four-year varsity career with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He was named 10th Region Player of the Year as a junior and nominated for the prestigious Mr. Kentucky Basketball award as a senior.
Wilson said there were several reasons he decided to attend West Point and play basketball on the NCAA Division I level.
“I wanted to do something different and there was no one from Campbell County (High School) that had ever gone to West Point before,” he said.
The fact that one of his uncles had served in the Army in Afghanistan also influenced Wilson’s decision.
“He was kind of chirping in my ear about how going to West Point would be so great, but it was always in the back of my mind,” Wilson said. “I always thought it would be cool to serve (in the Army) and just didn’t know if I had the guts to do it. Luckily, basketball kind of gave me another reason to say, ‘We’re going to go ahead and do this thing.’”
As they say in the military, Wilson has earned his stripes playing basketball for the Black Knights. He has been in every game since he was a freshman and his averages improved each season. He finished last season with team-high averages of 13.8 points and 8.6 rebounds. He also shot 58.6 percent of his field, which ranked 30th in the NCAA Division I national statistics.
West Point finished the season with a 13-19 record. The team’s second game was at Duke, where Wilson had 15 points and nine rebounds. One of his seven double-double performances came in win against traditional rival Navy. He put up 17 points and 11 rebounds in that home game.
Wilson will go into his senior season with career totals of 1,095 points and 604 rebounds, which ranks 10th in the west Point team record book.
“Personal accolades don’t really mean anything to me,” he said. “I just want to be the best I can be for my team.”
When you consider the rigorous academic schedule and military training duties facing West Point cadets, Wilson’s basketball statistics become a little more impressive. He has to manage his time well to get everything done during the season.
“Academics here are crazy, and just kind of balancing all those things, I’m very fortunate to have the (basketball) career I’ve had so far,” he said. “I just hope to keep improving and have a good ending to my career.”
Wilson is an environmental science major, but it will be quite some time before he applies for a job in that field. After he graduates from West Point, he’ll become a second lieutenant in the Army and serve five years of active duty plus three years in the reserves.
West Point cadets won’t get their first assignment in the Army until a few weeks before they graduate. Wilson doesn’t know what’s in store for him, but he’s prepared for anything. Earlier this summer, he went through military training exercises that put cadets in tactical situations to develop their leadership skills.
“I do take a lot of pride in it, and it’s a great honor in my opinion,” Wilson said of his impending military service. “I really don’t think there’s anything more honorable.”