By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Anacia Wilkinson is long.
At 6-feet, 2-inches, with a wingspan that rivals almost any post player in the country, the Houston native was blessed with a body crafted for blocking shots, and terrorizing opposing players trying to attack the basket.
"I was the tallest in my middle school, and I had this same body structure and everything," said Wilkinson of her early years.
Despite her size, Wilkinson wasn't immediately drawn to the hardwood. In fact, she was actually more interested in the action happening on the sidelines.
"I actually started out with cheerleading," Wilkinson said. "I didn't like basketball or any other sport. I didn't know anything about them until I got to middle school and I wanted to try different sports outside of cheerleading. Once I got into basketball, I fell in love with it."
Just as countless youngsters do, Wilkinson spent the next couple of years learning the fundamentals of the game before blossoming during her prep years at Atascocita High School in Humble, Texas.
She earned four varsity letters under coach Valery Jackson, using her rangy frame to lead the team in blocks and rebounds each year. During her senior campaign, Wilkinson averaged 12.4 points, eight rebounds and three blocks per game, and was an all-district honoree and Greater Houston Area Basketball Associate Top 50 selection by the end of it.
Those credentials were enough to catch the eyes of the Jim Davis-led Tech coaching staff, which saw big-time potential in Wilkinson's game on both ends of the floor.
"(Shot-blocking) was one thing that we talked about, especially with Coach (Bart) Walker," Wilkinson said. "He actually came to my high school and watched most of my games. He saw me dropping 15-foot jump shots, blocking shots and running the floor, and that's what they liked the most about me."
Fast forward to 2019, and the potential seen in that high schooler from East Texas has become reality in her redshirt-junior season.
Wilkinson has raised eyebrows around the Ohio Valley Conference and beyond, amassing 80 blocks in 31 games this year, destroying the Tech single-season record of 61 set by Kayla Brewer in 2013-14.
Incredibly, it took Wilkinson just 21 games to put her name atop TTU's blocks list for a single year, eclipsing Brewer's total with a four-block night against Murray State on Feb. 2.
Along the way, Wilkinson matched another Tech standard, denying nine shot attempts against Tennessee State on Jan. 16 to finish one short of a triple-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
"I think I was just more relaxed (that night)," Wilkinson remarked. "The game before, I didn't have that many blocks and we had been talking about not blocking every shot – just letting it come to me. I was focused on just playing my game, and the blocked shots happened to come along with it."
Despite being turned away at the rim time after time, TSU continued to hoist shots in the lane throughout that contest.
And, like a postal worker with misaddressed envelopes, Wilkinson was there to return them to their senders.
"One of the (TSU players) shot it and I blocked it, and then she got her own rebound and shot again, and I blocked her again," Wilkinson said. "I was like, 'okay, if you're going to keep coming in here, I'm just going to keep blocking it.'"
With her whopping 80 rejections, Wilkinson currently ranks 12th among players in NCAA Division I. She was inside the top 10 earlier this week, but has slipped slightly with several teams still competing in their respective conference tournaments.
Her high-water mark was a No. 4 national ranking, which happened on three different occasions during the year.
As one might expect, Wilkinson paced the OVC in blocked shots by a wide margin, totaling 13 more denials than Sydney Bauman of SIUE, the league's No. 2.
The nine blocks against TSU also moved Wilkinson into the top 10 on Tech's all-time career list. She has since ascended to fourth on that leaderboard, having erased 124 shots in just 72 career contests for a per-game average of 1.72. That rate is currently the best in Tennessee Tech history.
With another season of eligibility remaining, Wilkinson should quickly surpass Terrance Oglesby (128 blocks) and Emily Christian (130), who are third and second, respectively, on the TTU list. She will need another outstanding season to catch Melinda Clayton Hatfield, the program leader at 194, but the big Texan is looking forward to the opportunity to make history.
"That's going to be one of my goals for next year, and I'm going to make it happen," quipped Wilkinson.
While poring over Wilkinson's impressive numbers from this season, it can be easy to lose sight of the improbable journey she made just to step on the floor again.
Shortly after arriving in Cookeville in 2015, Wilkinson suffered a significant knee injury in the very first regular season game of her collegiate career. A medical redshirt was issued, and the long road to rehab began.
Wilkinson has since battled a severe case of patellar tendonitis, and after working tirelessly to get healthy, she bounced back to see action in 28 of Tech's 30 games the following season, and totaled 32 blocks, which was second-best on the team.
The biggest highlight was a then-career-high 16-point, 11-rebound showing against East Tennessee State, for which she won OVC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 13, 2016.
Unfortunately, complications persisted into the offseason, and after multiple consultations, Wilkinson was forced to undergo surgery on her left knee on May 8, 2017.
Two-thirds of her patellar tendon were removed, and two permanent stitches were sewn into her kneecap. And just like that, Wilkinson had to restart the cumbersome process of returning to basketball – again.
With dogged determination, Wilkinson was able to play in each of Tech's final 12 games in 2017-18, setting up this year's breakout campaign.
With a potential postseason bid still hanging in the balance for this year's Golden Eagle team, Wilkinson has not taken much time to reflect on her comeback story, but hopes that it can help others who are faced with similar circumstances in the future.
"I'm leaving a legacy," Wilkinson said. "I want the younger kids to see that, 'hey, she went through a lot of stuff and she's still pushing through it. She's still able to accomplish these things, and able to leave her mark here.' So, I just want that legacy."
Photos by Thomas Corhern and Tony Marable
