Herb Wilkinson
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 13, 1923 Hurricane, Utah |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | East (Salt Lake City, Utah) |
| College | |
| Position | Guard |
| Number | 28 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Herbert Wells Wilkinson (born December 13, 1923) is best known as an American college basketball player who won the 1944 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as a freshman while playing for Utah, then transferred to Iowa as a sophomore and became a three-time All-American.
Wilkinson was born in Hurricane, Utah and raised as a Mormon. He grew up playing basketball but his home also had a high jump pit, and consequently Wilkinson became an excellent high jumper (he got so good, in fact, that he placed fourth at the NCAA Division I track and field championships in 1945.) He attended East High School in Salt Lake City, and when Wilkinson was a sophomore he only stood 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m). By the time he enrolled in college, however, he had grown to 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), which more suited his ability to play basketball at the next level.
Wilkinson matriculated at the University of Utah in the fall of 1943. He had stopped growing at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) but still possessed the dribbling and shooting abilities he had honed as a smaller high school player. As a very tall guard for that era, he helped lead the Utes to the NCAA tournament.
The Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team, who had originally qualified for the NCAA tournament, was victimized by an auto accident. Prior to the tournament, two of Arkansas' starters were injured when their station wagon broke down after returning from a scrimmage in Fort Smith, Arkansas. While attempting to fix a flat tire, Deno Nichols and Ben Jones were injured when another car rammed into the back of the station wagon. Both players were injured and the severity of the accident caused Arkansas to withdraw from the upcoming NCAA tournament. In need of a replacement, the NCAA committee turned to Utah, despite the fact that the Utes had four losses and had just lost their first round game in the NIT tournament. Utah had one player, Lyman Condie, a medical student, who quit the team to midway through the season to pursue medical school. Additionally, all of Utah's players were raised within 30 miles of the Utah campus. These players included Arnie Ferrin, Fred Sheffield, and Wat Misaka who was of Japanese descent.
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