Q&A: John Willkom on Walking-On, D-1 Sports, and Life After Basketball
A brief insight into the thoughts of best-selling author and former walk-on at Marquette, John Willkom
John Willkom (@John Willkom on Medium) might not be the first name that comes to mind when thinking about Marquette Basketball, but he has become a prominent name in the sports world for his detailing of the world of Division 1 basketball.
Whether you are an aspiring college athlete or a normal basketball fan, there is value and learning about the lessons, hard work, and sheer competitiveness it takes to make it to the next-level of athletics after high school, as well as the lifelong values that sports teaches.
In 2003, as he graduated from Marshfield High School in small-town Wisconsin, Willkom began to write down his experiences, perhaps to save a few memorable sports stories for the future. He received a scholarship at Minnesota-Crookston, a D-2 basketball program, but transferred to Marquette after one season.
Nothing was guaranteed for Willkom, who was an undersized player compared to his peers on the team, and even initially thought he would be the team manager. But an assistant coach Brian Wardle, and Head Coach Tom Crean suggested he try-out for the team as a walk-on; soon, Wilkom’s life became a 6 A.M. — 9 P.M. grind of athletics and academics.
After his college basketball career ended, Willkom noted that athletics helped him transition into a professional life: he coached after college, continued a basketball camp and AAU program (Playmakers basketball) that he started during his senior year of high school, and landed a job with the Milwaukee Bucks.
His self-published book, Walk-On Warrior, details these experiences, stories, and the impact of basketball on his life. It has been a best-seller in the college basketball category on Amazon for the past two years.
Without further ado, here is our Q&A with the former Marquette basketball player turned E-Commerce executive, John Willkom.
What made you want to switch from a D-2 program, where you had a scholarship, to a bigger school like Marquette, where you weren’t guaranteed anything, financially or athletically?
Honestly, I just didn’t like where I was. I had grown up in a small town and going to another [small town] for college just wasn’t a good cultural fit for me. While Marquette isn’t a huge school, it was the experience I was looking for in terms of broadening my horizons and being in a bigger city. I was also a huge fan of Marquette as a school. My dad had been a student there in the 70’s, and my perception of the school, along with my support as a fan growing up certainly made it an attractive place to me.
To go off that previous question, if I’m a high-school athlete weighing my options between a guaranteed spot on a D-2 team or walking on at a D-1 school, why (or why not) should I choose to walk-on, and maybe elaborate on the factors that would go into that decision.
It’s a great question, and there probably isn’t a “right” answer. Ultimately, any kid should make the decision based on their own circumstances. Finances, academics, and location are just few factors that should probably come before basketball.
I would tell any high school player that this is your decision. What do you want to experience for the next 4 years? What alumni base do you want to be a part of? When someone asks you about where you went to college, what story do you want to tell?
Certainly, if a casual viewer only watches nationally-televised games every so often, they somewhat come to the conclusion that walk-ons, are, in colloquial terms, the “bench-warmers.” I myself know a player who went to Stetson as a walk-on and was suited up against Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Duke yet never left the bench and seemed like more of a “towel-waver” than anything else. But what can you say about the process, dedication, and sheer effort it takes to simply get onto the bench in a D-1 basketball game?
I think the media and walk-ons at some schools have changed the perception in recent years. Guys who want to dance on the bench or come up with the next “salute” when a teammate hits a 3-point shot aren’t what my experience was about at all. I was a rostered member of the team. I was coached just as hard as everyone else, and in many cases, was pushed harder in places like the weight room so that I could hold my ground against some of the best athletes in the country. When our coach ran practice or put together a game plan for our next opponent, I had the same chance as everyone else on our team to help us win.
It isn’t an uncommon sentiment to feel that, if you’re not starring or playing major minutes at the collegiate level, your sports career in college won’t set you up for professional opportunities involving sports. What can you say about that based on your experience?
I completely disagree. Sure, if you want to play professional sports, playing minutes at the college level certainly helps, as you need that film. However, I know many players that continued to play overseas after playing limited D1 minutes in college. On the flip side, many players (including guys that played major minutes) get jobs in sports marketing, media, agent work, coaching, etc. If you want to stay connected to the game, there will be always be opportunities in a full time, part time, or volunteer capacity. Ultimately, you have to own your career and make a commitment to what you want to do, just as you did as a college basketball player.
So you finished college at Marquette. What was your experience with coaching like, and how was the transition to a non-basketball career with E-commerce and business? Did basketball play a major role in your future (non-basketball) career, or are sports and professions two separate entities outside of the sporting industry?
I coached for 10 years after college and loved every minute of it. One of the great things that I learned at Marquette is that so many things I learned on the basketball court were similar to what I was learning in the classroom. Business is about people, communication, and strategy. I knew that whether my career would be about basketball or business, that I’d like to stay involved in the other. I’ve written articles for basketball publications, volunteered at camps, and even just attended games to watch kids play and give them some feedback. At this point in my life, everything I do related to basketball is aimed to give back and hopefully provide as much value as I can.
On the business side, I love my job in E-commerce because it’s allowed me to continue to compete. Every deal, relationship, and strategy is an opportunity to be better than my opponents. Sure, there is much more to what I do, but I love having the opportunity to solve complex issues and move in a direction that is somewhat cloudy, given that none of us know exactly what the future will hold.
From everything I’ve read and heard about you, you are still deeply involved with the game and the areas native to you. So how did you come up with Playmakers basketball, and what was the vision behind it?
A good friend of mine and I started our own basketball camp in 2003, and the concept really grew from there. Our first year, we had close to 100 kids attend camp, and we were thrilled! By year four, we took our camp concept on the road and held camps in 13 different cities across the Midwest. Eventually, an AAU program was started, and the Wisconsin Playmakers still have teams for both boys and girls across multiple grade levels.
I’m no longer involved with Playmakers, but I couldn’t be more proud of what it represents. We wanted to give kids from smaller towns an opportunity and to see this continuing to happen, 17 years later, is amazing. One of our first players, Matt Thomas, is now a shooting guard for the Toronto Raptors.
Last question: certainly you’ve at least kept an eye on these NBA Finals. How does it feel to have Marquette be so strongly represented (through Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and to lesser extent, Dwyane Wade)?
It’s been great to watch so many Marquette guys have success in the NBA. Most importantly for me, it’s the type of players that have found success. D-Wade, Jimmy, Jae….those are just a few examples of guys that arrived at Marquette with limited scholarship offers and had to develop during their time in college. Marquette toughness is a real thing and is something that is developed through intense practices and extra work with the strength and conditioning staff. You can’t help but root for guys like that when you’ve personally seen them put in the work.
