“They never knew I was going to get this tall,” said Brooke Wilson, 21, a senior forward on the George Washington University women’s basketball team and this week’s Campus Celebrity.
The 6’2” basketball star has been involved in the sport since she was nine years old. Wilson was introduced to the sport when her mother started showing her how to shoot a basketball on the playground in her neighborhood. Shortly thereafter, she began playing on an organized recreational team in addition to playing on her middle school’s team. Wilson later went on to win the State Championships with her team at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
Her talent was quickly noticed by George Washington University and was shortly after offered a position on the university’s team in 2008. She had received offers from several other universities, but chose GWU for its close proximity to her hometown in Greenbelt, Maryland. As an only child, Wilson also found in her teammates a close and unique bond that she had never experienced before since she came from a small family without any siblings.
“We’re just a bunch of sisters,” said Wilson of her teammates.
During the span of her basketball career at GW, Wilson was ranked in the top 6 in the Atlantic 10 between 2009 and 2010 and was named to the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll both in the fall and spring semesters between 2010 and 2011. As well, she was also selected as a member of the Preseason Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team during 2010 to 2011. Because Wilson was not able to play during her freshman year due to a knee injury, she will be able to play another year of basketball at GW following her graduation in 2012.
Wilson ultimately aspires to play professional basketball following the end of her basketball career at GWU. She is also interested in public service and has hopes of becoming a police officer at the state or federal level. Wilson will graduate in 2012 with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice.