2016-17 Buffalo Women’s Basketball Previews: Courtney Wilkins

The first native of the down under that we’ll detail in this series, Courtney Wilkins brings a strong shooting ability as a forward and hopes to improve from last season.

The Basics

Number: 12

Year: Junior (uhhh, we’ll try and get back to you on that one)

Position: Forward

Hometown: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Height: 6-1

New to Buffalo?

Nope

UB Career

How Wilkins arrived at UB isn’t the usual story. Back at home in Melbourne she played for Haileybury College where she was named team MVP in 2014. She also played for the Frankston Blues—a club team that also housed current UB point guard Stephanie Reid. Recruited by Cherie Cordoba, Wilkins arrived in Buffalo mid-season, weeks after her high school graduation. Although she sat for the rest of her freshman season, she provided an important bench role for the Bulls last year. Averaging 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds, Wilkins was also one of the Bulls’ best three-point shooters. Her improvement over the season was steady and was capped off by her final two games. In UB’s MAC Championship win, she scored a three on the buzzer before the half, giving the Bulls a one point lead. Finally, in UB’s NCAA Tourney appearance versus #3 Ohio State, she brought in a solid 14 points with four of those being three-pointers.

Further Reading and Viewing:

There isn’t much I can find for you on Wilkins at all throughout the internet so I’ll just leave the news of when she committed and some other stuff.

Bull Run: Buffalo Bulls Women's Basketball Welcomes Stephanie Reid, Courtney Wilkins, Cassie Oursler

Wilkins is the second 6'1" recruit in two classes for Coach Jack. With UB strong in the front court thanks to seniors Christa Baccas and Kristen Sharkey, she'll probably not see the floor at all in the rest of 2014-15, but will form a tandem with classmate Mariah Suchan and now Oursler going forward.

Bull Run: Ball State Cardinals at Buffalo Bulls Women's Basketball Recap: Fontaine takes over in the second half to beat Bulls 59-57

Sophomore Courtney Wilkins in particular continues to contribute critical minutes, today chipping in 8 points with a couple of threes before fouling out as the entire team slowed down in the final stretches

2016-17 Outlook

I would say that Wilkins was the most improved across the board last season. This year, I expect a bigger role from the forward to help generate more offense outside of the power trio. With her ability to shoot the three-ball, she’ll really be able to stretch the floor and create opportunities elsewhere and that’s something this year’s squad could use. Let’s hope for the same level of improvement as last year.