Making a difference for both team and community

Wilcox working to lift Sonics toward winning heights

Chris Wilcox
Pictured during 2007 Chris Wilcox Youth Basketball Camp in Whiteville.

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

It’s not easy playing for a team in the National Basketball Association that is trying to battle its way uphill with a 7-18 record.

But that is how it is with the Seattle SuperSonics, and former Whiteville High School standout Chris Wilcox is one of the Sonics being called on to lead that battle.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound power forward is now in his sixth NBA season at age 25. He is in his second full season with Seattle after opening his career with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Wilcox, who was the Clippers’ 2002 first-round draft pick right after helping pace the University of Maryland to the NCAA championship, has started all 25 games for Seattle this season. He is second on the team in scoring with an average of 14.0 points and is the top rebounder with a 7.8 average.

Seattle opened the 2007-08 season under new head coach P.J. Carlsimo with losses in its first eight games. But December brought a resurgence to the team as it has won five of its last nine games.

In a recent Sonic press release, first-year Sonics General Manager Sam Presti, said that the team is making steady progress., and that Wilcox is an important part in the big challenge of turning the franchise around.

The Sonics are breaking in 19-year-old rookie sensation Kevin Durant, the first-round draft pick after one season at the University of Texas and the type player expected to make an phenomenal impact in the NBA with a season or two of experience. Durant leads the team in scoring with a 19.7 average.

“It is players like Chris ... that have played a lot of games in the league,” Presti said. “Getting production, performance and stability from them helps the young core as they mature.”

Through 25 games, Wilcox had scored in double figures 16 times and has recorded six double-doubles. His season-high single-game point total is 24 in a loss at Charlotte, and he had a season-high 13 rebounds in a home victory over Milwaukee.

While Wilcox is working to help make a difference in the Sonic success on the court, he is also working to make a big difference off the court.

On the day before Thanksgiving, Wilcox and his mother Debra Brown provided 540 Thanksgiving dinners for underprivileged families in the Seattle.

With the help of several teammates and franchise employees, Wilcox and his mother handed out 15-pound turkeys, dressing mix, yams and pumpkin pies at the Rainier Community Center. (The 540 turkey and sides number was a play on his Sonic jersey number 54).

“I saw a lot of kids coming up to me,” Wilcox said. “It made me feel good because they were happy. I signed autographs for families - families from certain neighborhoods that wouldn’t get a chance to come to NBA games. It was a great feeling to be able to help out and see the smiles on the faces of the kids and even adults.”

Because of his community outreach work, the Columbus County native is unselfishly becoming one of the most recognizable professional sports figures in the Seattle area.

Wilcox was a two-year starter on the Whiteville High School basketball team, leading Coach Glenn McKoy’s Wolfpack to the state 2A championship in 1999.

Wilcox returns to Whiteville each June to conduct the weeklong Chris Wilcox Youth Basketball Camp, which annually draws more than 200 participants.

Seattle played host to the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday night, and they will entertain the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.