Former Trojan Keith Wilkinson, like Hackett, headed overseas

According to the Los Angeles Times, former USC basketball player Keith Wilkinson, who started 12 games for the Trojans a year ago, has signed a one-year contract with Cryvbasket of the Ukraine Basketball League for an undisclosed amount of money.

The 6’11” Wilkinson, a power forward, was never a star for the program, but he was a valuable contributor during USC’s three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. Over his four year career, he averaged 2.1 points per game and 2.3 rebounds as a reserve forward. He had his best performance in his final two years under Floyd, as he averaged nearly 3 points and 3 rebounds while appearing in the majority of the games.

By going to Ukraine, he now becomes the second player from USC’s 2008-2009 Pac-10 championship team to sign a contract with a team in Europe. Daniel Hackett, a native of Italy, signed a one-year deal with Benetton Treviso of the Italian league a few weeks ago.

While it is possible for Hackett to one day earn a spot in the NBA, it is rather unlikely that Wilkinson will ever sniff an invitation to an NBA training camp. Even though it is quite an achievement to play professional basketball in the first place, it is important to remember that Ukraine is not in the upper-echelon of European leagues. Spain, Italy, and Greece, are considered the “premier” leagues of European basketball, while Ukraine  professional hoops is akin to major college basketball in the United States.

But nevertheless, it is still an exciting time for Wilkinson, who is now able to live out his dream of playing pro ball. It’s just important to keep the whole thing in perspective.