'Frenchy' to Close Book at ISU Wednesday
By: Kurt Pegler - WMBD/WYZZ-TV
Updated: February 26, 2013
WMBD/WYZZ-TV - NORMAL, Ill. -- Senior night at Illinois State could be interesting for John Wilkins.
When he gets his named called at Redbird Arena it's about the only time he's called John.
"Everybody calls me Frenchy," explained Wilkins. "All over campus. Even my professors call me Frenchy."
That's because Wilkins was born in France, coming to Illinois State three years ago. Although he was billed as an offensive player, he's really made his mark blocking shots and playing defense.
"Defense wins championships," said Wilkins. "We gotta go from here. it just clicked in my head. I knew that if I wanted to ostay on the court, I'd have to play defense."
His father Jeff was a star player at ISU back in the 70's. When John first came to campus, everybody wanted to talk to him about his dad.
But now he says, things have changed.
"My first year, everybody was talking about my father. Now it's all about me," said Wilkins. "(Fans) didn't know me before and they expected me to play like my father. Now that they have me, they want to talk about how I play."
And those fans at Redbird Arena have one last chance to shout his name, either John or Frenchy, when ISU hosts Missouri State on senior night Wednesday.
