New Look, Same Game
Former GW champ Shunta Wilson flying above rim at Fork Union
Shunta Wilson looks a bit different nowadays.
Gone are the trademark braids that Wilson sported during his two-year tenure on the George Washington boys basketball team, replaced by a closely-cropped, military-precise hair cut — a product of his decision to play postgraduate ball at Fork Union Military Academy.
“It was hard, I miss it man,” Wilson said, laughing, rubbing his hair.
One thing that hasn’t changed though about Wilson is his game.
Well, that isn’t exactly true.
GW boys basketball coach Jermaine Parker once joked about Wilson’s stubbornness towards playing defense when he first arrived on varsity. However, Parker runs a tight ship defensively, meaning Wilson had to learn the importance of getting back. Judging by his performance in Fork Union’s matchup against Commonwealth Academy (Mass.) last Saturday in the 2nd Annual Hargrave Military Circuit, it’s a lesson Wilson has continued at Fork Union.
Midway through the first half, with the Blue Devils trailing, Wilson broke in for a steal and transition dunk that sent an echo across the gym. A few minutes later, he swatted away a pair of shots that helped Fork Union keep Commonwealth off the board over the course of an 8–0 run that pushed the Blue Devils ahead at the half. In all, he finished with two blocks and two steals to go along with is 11 points.
“Defense is the most important thing,” Wilson said. “And team ball,” Wilson said. “If you’ve got defense and you can stop the other team and it gives you a better opportunity to score on defense.”
Wilson’s defense wasn’t the only facet he showed he had improved on during last weekend’s tournament.
Near the end of the first half, Wilson took a feed from Matias Pock and delivered a no-doubt dunk that saw him easily get two inches above the rim — something Wilson didn’t always show when delivering crowd-pleasing dunks inside GW’s gym.
While it would be easy to credit Wilson’s improved game to the two inches he’s grown in the past year — placing him at 6-foot-5 — the wing contributed other factors to his improved leap.
“Weight room,” Wilson said without hesitating. “We do a lot of squatting and stuff to build our agility and it builds us to go stronger and a lot faster.”
Last year, right before Wilson signed his letter of intent, GW coach Jermaine Parker challenged his former player to a game of high-stakes pickup basketball. The odds? If Wilson lost, he would have to cut his hair. Wilson won the game, contributing one factor to his success.
“This right here,” Wilson said, laughing, pointing to his arm. “Took him inside, down the middle the whole way.”
Looking at Wilson before and during the Blue Devils’ matchup against Commonwealth, Parker might think twice about challenging his former protégé to a friendly game of hoops now. Wilson has bulked up since arriving at Fork Union and that combined with his growth, have turned him into the ultimate swingman.
“We wake up early in the morning at 6 a.m. and we go straight to the weight room, practice three times a day and we eat healthy to gain weight and practice hard,” Wilson said.
The last time I talked to Wilson, he had just dropped a team-high 23 points against Louisa in the state title game. Flash forward nearly a year later, and it’s déjà vu as Wilson has just finished Fork Union’s Hargrave Military Circuit opening game with 11 points.
Earlier this season, the Blue Devils traveled down to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for a matchup against the University of North Carolina’s jayvee team. Facing a high-caliber opponent, jayvee or not, would make even the chiseled guard a bit shaky, but as any who knows him will attest, Wilson isn’t your regular player. Instead of collapsing under the lights of the Dean Dome, he recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds in Fork Union’s 71–51 victory over the Tarheels. Wilson also recorded a 15–11 double-double in the Blue Devils’ matchup against Squire (Ohio).
Oh yeah … We can’t forget about the 20 points and 12 rebounds he dropped in a 98–94 overtime-win over Hargrave Military Academy this past weekend.
“I love to attack and play above the rim so it’s hard to stop me and they play me close so I can just drop by them,” Wilson said.
At his official signing ceremony at GW this past spring, quoted Fork Union’s structured regime as one of his primary reasons for attending the school. Eight months later, he’s sticking to his guns, crediting the military-style regime for not only his improved play but academic focus as well.
“Academic wise, they give us a study hall at night so we can study and do great in class,” Wilson said. “We have the same schedule as in college. We wake up early in the morning at 6 a.m. and we go straight to the weight room and practice three times a day.”
