No lockout for Long Beach State's Wilkerson

By Wes Woods, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, October 13, 1998

Dana Wilkerson, former Long Beach State basketball star and current guard of the Chicago Condors of the American Basketball League will be inducted in the Long Beach Hall of Fame Oct. 14.

Wilkerson, a 5-foot-6-inch player with incredible quickness and determination, led the 49ers from 1988 to 1991 to four consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Coached by Joan Bonvicini, Wilkerson's efforts led to the 1988 Final Four, 1989 Elite Eight and 1991 Sweet 16.

"She had a big impact," said Bonvicini, current coach of the University of Arizona. "Her first game, she hit the game-winning shot against the then-considered unbeatable Russians. She came in and started mid-year in the best three guard rotation in the United States with Traci Waites and Penny Toler.

"Dana is a very intelligent person and player with unbelievable quickness. She exuded confidence as a player, even very early in her career. I'm very proud of her," Bonvicini said.

Today, Wilkerson's name is still prominent throughout the 49er records.

In her 134 game career, she amassed 551 assists, ranking first. In steals, she ranked third, with 276. She is fourth in free throws (326) and sixth in scoring (1635).

Wilkerson averaged 12.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists throughout her career. A two-time (as a junior and senior) first-team All-Big West Selection, she lead Long Beach State to a 24-8 record (tied for first place in the Big West Conference) in the 1990-91 season. In the same season, she was named to the Big West Conference Tournament All-Tournament team as team captain.

She lead the 49ers in scoring and assists with 16.3 and 5.9 respectively, and also was named a third-team Kodak All-American selection.

"She deserves it [Wilkerson being inducted in the Hall of Fame]," said Traci Waites, a former teammate of Wilkerson and current University of Pittsburgh women's basketball coach. "She's a great athlete. It says a lot about her character. It's a huge accomplishment in Long Beach. It says a lot about her alma matter."

In 1988 Wilkerson helped lead the United States to a gold medal at the Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament over Guatemala (106-53) in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A year later, when Wilkerson was a junior, she was named Sports Illustrated's National Player of the Week for Jan. 22 and named Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 14.

In the 1989 Long Beach State Dial Soap Classic, Wilkerson was named most valuable player and named all-tournament selection at the McCall Patter Classic in Manhattan, Kan.

Besides basketball, she excelled in academics as well.

In the 1989-90 season she was a GTE-CoSIDA District 8 Academic All-American and a third-team National Academic All-American.

Against Northwestern (LA) State, in the same season, she achieved career highs in points (34) and rebounds (14).

Wilkerson was born on Feb. 27, 1969 in Anderson, Ind. In high school, she was a second-team Parade All-American and named to the Indiana All-State First Team as a senior, and second team as a junior.

She was also a four-time first team all-conference and all-county selection.

After gaining her bachelor's in mathematics, she coached two seasons at Centennial High in Compton, Calif. During the same time she earned a master's degree in operations research engineering at USC.

She was also a four-time member of the Long Beach Summer League Champions.

In 1995, she was the MVP of the Say No Classic Open Division in Los Angeles.

From 1995 to 1997, she spent two years teaching math and coaching girls basketball and track at Long Beach's Wilson High School.

In May of 1997 Wilkerson was drafted by the Philadelphia Rage in the fourth round, then traded to the Long Beach StingRays a week before the season started.

She averaged 2.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in her first season. After the StingRays folded in 1998, she was reassigned to the Condors.

Wilkerson will join eight other individuals to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Westin Long Beach Hotel at 6 p.m.

To attend the event, contact the 49er Athletic Association at (562) 985-7662.