Wilkinson enjoys the intimacy of Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt had an important visitor over then weekend. Mwani Wilkinson took his fourth of five official visits to Nashville. The four-star wing from Las Vegas saw UNLV, USC, and LSU, before going to Vanderbilt. He will wrap things up on the first weekend of November when he goes to Texas Tech. Expect a decision soon afterwards.
VandySports.com spoke with his father Tim on Monday night, and he detailed what the West End and Music City had to offer.
Q: Walk us through the trip chronologically and tell us what happened.
Wilkinson: "We checked in late on Thursday night. We checked in downtown, settled in and got some rest. The next morning we headed out and went to campus and had a chance to see the facility and meet the staff. Not all of them were there at that time, but up in the day we kind of piece by piece met each one of them. We got a chance to see the cafeteria, see the activities of some fraternities, just the whole campus ambience. We met with the Strength and Conditioning Director (Carlos Daniel). He has a very experienced resume. He's been in the NBA. He played and been overseas, and he has experience at his position.
We had a chance to check out the weight room and training facility and saw the baseball players while we were there. Coach Tim (Corbin) came in and we had he chance to meet a National Championship coach. Very impressively he said, 'You must be Mwani Wilkinson, ' simultaneously with coming through his door. I guess he was expecting the recruit to be there on his visit. So we took a couple of pictures with him and laughed and joked for a couple of minutes.
Before we went to the campus, we ate some good food. We ate at a real popular pancake place. We sat down pretty fast and ate some pancakes. Coach (Stackhouse) and his staff came. It was just good."
Q: What stuck out to you about Vanderbilt?
Wilkinson: "If I could describe the experience with one word it would be 'intimate.' It is a very intimate facility. The staff was intimate. The locals were intimate. It was just an intimate experience to me.
The respect and the weight that the name 'Vanderbilt' carries throughout the community. When I was staying at the hotel and people would ask me what brings me to Nashville, and I would tell them that my son was on an official visit to Vanderbilt. As soon as I said 'Vanderbilt' their eyes just kind of lit up. It was very encouraging and refreshing to see the respect that the institution carries."
Q: Did it differ in any way than you expected?
Wilkinson: "Absolutely, because one of my co-workers went to a couple of Titans games. My son is good friends with DeMarco Murray and he was there. But when they tried to explain it to me, they just said it is really hard to explain. You just have to go there and see. After I went, I understand what they were saying. When you say Nashville, you kind of think of a country setting, but really it was more urban than I ever imagined. One of the members of the coaching staff made a joke that the new official bird for Nashville is the crane. When we went from point A to point B we just saw a host of cranes and constant building.
He did a photo shoot and then took some pictures and did a SLAM Magazine cover with Mwani on it in a Vanderbilt jersey. He was pulling it forward with his thumbs on each side to give it a bold look. At the bottom of the magazine it had 'NASHVEGAS' written on it. So I hurried up and sent it back this way to the people in Las Vegas and it had a very good buzz going on in the community."
Q: What did you think of Coach Stackhouse after being around him for a little bit.
Wilkinson: "Oh man, Stack's resume speaks for itself. It just didn't happen that way because he's a top notch guy. His format and how he has structured this whole program is basically the format of the NBA from his staff to the plays he runs on the court with the kids. Everything is exemplary of an NBA setting. He's very hands on with the team. He even tailgated at the football game and barbecued himself. Those type of things like that show the character of the coach. He's not going through the motions or anything. He's really being himself and he's giving these young men and opportunity to possibly play at the next level. So he's providing them the setting and the structure to succeed and go to the next level if they choose to do so."
Q: You've taken some other visits. Was there anything about this one that made Vanderbilt stick out?
Wilkinson: "Besides the intimacy and the respect that the people have for the school itself, I think it is self explanatory the way Vanderbilt is well respected and the intimacy it provides for the experience."
Q: Did Vanderbilt help itself over the weekend? Where does it stand?
Wilkinson: "Oh tremendously. All of the schools have been nothing short of great. If I was coming up and I was seventeen years old it would be a very complicated decision for me to make, because I know that every institution has their own spark. But Vanderbilt is definitely a top notch school, and lots and lots of people in Las Vegas respect the name of 'Vanderbilt.' With that being said, Vanderbilt speaks for itself. It's in a class of its own. That's coming from an academic standpoint. The people there are extremely friendly and are extremely nice. They have a staff with Jerry Stackhouse running it. We had a chance to meet the Athletic Director as well. We went to the football game where they were heavy underdogs and pulled off a victory. The whole setting was was one of winning."