Posted by Dan Jensen
It took until the fourth class but Boonie Wilkening, one of our all-time great baskeetball players, finally was selected.
Boonie was our first great basketball star and led our first two district champions in 1954 and 1955 when the high school was located in Webster. The jump shot was just coming into basketball when he played and he had one that was unguardable. He later played on a national champion at Southwest Texas (now Texas State) and his storied coach Milton Jowers claimed his jump shot was the best he had ever seen.
Boonie was a high school star when I was still in junior high playing basketball. He was one of my idols because of that jump-shot of his, especially from the corner of the court. He was the best I saw play for the Creek until guys like James Davis, Robert Brown, Chuck Trcka, and Bennie Lenox came along. I will always have him at the top of my list, however, because of the role model he played in my own development as a high school player.
Posted by: Ed Davis | July 25, 2019 at 09:00 AM
I was a senior when Boonie moved to the district as a sophomore. One day I saw him shooting and remarked to a friend that he had a funny shot. Remember the jump shot was just coming into basketball. My friend said, "Yeah, but he makes a lot of them." But missing some did not seem to bother him; he just kept gunning and quickly would be back in the groove. That's what the good shooters do.
Posted by: Dan Jensen | July 25, 2019 at 03:02 PM