Rick Sund, general manager of the National Basketball Association’s Seattle Super-Sonics, announced Tuesday that former Whiteville High star Chris Wilcox had re-signed with the team.

Wilcox reportedly signed a three-year contract worth $21 million, making him a definite part of the Sonic future. The signing came after more than six weeks of negotiations as Wilcox carried restricted free agent status.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Wilcox, who paced Whiteville High to the 1999 state 2A championship and played a big role for the 2002 NCAA national champion Maryland Terrapins, went from “bench to big-time” in 29 games with Seattle this past season. He was acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in February.

Although Wilcox had been the Clippers’ first-round draft pick in 2002, he was rarely more than afterthought in his 3 1/2 seasons with that team.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Chris back to our team,” said Sund in a Sonics press release. “We indicated this summer that getting Chris signed was a priority and he is on board. The Sonics had a winning record after acquiring Chris and we want to build on that success. He’s a good fit in (Seattle coach) Bob Hill’s system and the style that Bob likes to play.”

In his 29 games with the Sonics in 2006, Wilcox averaged 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 30.1 minutes from the big forward spot. He shot 59.2 per cent from the field and scored 20-plus points six times.

The 23-year-old Wilcox was named Western Conference Player of the Week during the first week of April after averaging 23 points, 15.3 rebounds and 75 per cent shooting (27-for-36). In addition, he recorded 26 points and 24 rebounds against Houston on April 4, the first 20/20 game for a Sonic player since Shawn Kemp accomplished that feat in November of 1995.

“This is a ‘win-win’ situation for the Sonics and myself,” Wilcox said following the signing. “I enjoy Coach Hill’s style of play and the team really started to come together at the end of the season. I’m really excited to get this season starter.

“I’ve been a fan of (Wilcox) for a long time,” said Coach Hill, in article by Jon Naito of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “When we traded for him, I was excited to see if he could be as good as I thought. As good as he was at times last year, I think he could be better.”

An injury to starting Sonic forward Nick Collison, shortly after Wilcox’s arrival gave the former Clipper the break he needed.

“Basically, it was a matter of getting an opportunity,” Wilcox said in the Post-Intelligencer story from the press conference. “Playing time is important. The opportunity really got me to where I’m at now.

Wilcox has said that he needs to improve on his defense and shot-blocking abilities, but that he is very encouraged by the fact that the Sonics system fits his style of play well.

“It’s a learning process, he said. “When I was at Maryland, I was on the bench behind guys like Terence Morris and Lonnie Baxter. I had to wait my turn. When I got the opportunity, just like I did here, I took full advantage of it and we won a championship. Hopefully, I can turn this program around, too.”

As a player for Coach Glenn McKoy’s Whiteville High Wolfpack, Wilcox was a starter for his sophomore and junior seasons, pacing the team to state title his junior year. He played his senior year at Raleigh’s Enloe High School and then went on to Maryland.

Under Maryland coach Gary Williams, Wilcox became a starter midway through is sophomore year and helped propel the Terps to the NCAA title. Two months later, he became the Clippers’ first-round draft pick.

Wilcox is the son of Debra Brown of Whiteville. Since turning professional, he has held the Chris Wilcox Youth Basketball Camp each June in Whiteville. The camp has drawn more than 200 participants each year.