Former High School All-American and Indiana Hoosier Wilkerson Tabbed as New Shawe Boys Basketball Coach

Monday, July 9, 2018 at 7:27 PM

By Rob Lafary

Wilkerson has spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Jeffersonville.

Shawe Memorial High School officially made one of its biggest announcements in boys basketball program history on Monday night when they officially introduced Sherron Wilkerson as the new varsity boys basketball head coach.

Wilkerson, who has served as a boys assistant coach at Jeffersonville since 2015, replaces Mike Brown who resigned after one year at the helm to take the same position at Salem High School. Shawe athletic director Stephen Sims says the hire was one the school could not pass up and that the Hilltoppers are excited to welcome Wilkerson to the family.

"We are super excited to name Sherron Wilkerson as our new boys basketball coach," Sims said in a Monday afternoon press release. "This is a hiring process that we did not expect to have this summer and finding someone like Coach Wilkerson is truly a blessing. We believe Coach (Mike) Brown laid the foundation to get the program going toward the right direction and Coach Wilkerson will now keep us going in that direction."

Wilkerson has long been regarded as one of the greatest high school basketball players in the state of Indiana since graduating from Jeffersonville in 1993 where he led the Red Devils to a state championship his senior season. His accolades include being named the 1993 National Gatorade Player of the Year and was also named a McDonald's All-American before embarking on a collegiate career at Indiana University where he played under Bob Knight and helped the Hoosiers to two NCAA Tournament appearances. He finished his playing career at the professional level, mainly competing overseas in five countries.

Wilkerson's coaching career began in 2005 as the varsity boys basketball coach at Herron Charter School in Indianapolis. He then shifted into the AAU circuit as the head coach of the Indiana Sharks, leading the program to success at the state, regional and national levels before taking off for the collegiate game.

He was an assistant coach during the 2009-2010 season at Indiana University Southeast and then spent two years as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Lamar University. His final stop was at Lincoln Trail Junior College before returning to his high school alma mater. Jeffersonville was a combined 49-27 in his three seasons as an assistant coach under Joe Luce.

Parents and players gathered at Shawe High School to hear from Wilkerson who laid out his coaching philosophies and expectations before meeting with the media and overseeing his first open gym as the head coach.

Wilkerson says that he is ready to get started and that he is "blessed" to take control of the Hilltopper basketball program.

"This is a great environment," Wilkerson said. "It's (Shawe) a very intimate setting. I think it's a diamond in the rough. We've got a road ahead of us but we're ready to go to work. We're not going to focus on the results. What we want to do is focus on the process. If we focus on the process then the results will speak for themselves. We just feel that going to class, building character, being prompt, being professional ... winning is just a byproduct of all those entities."

Weekly classroom checks with teachers, developing a feeder program starting with the kindergarten classes and setting an example as leaders in the community are just a few of those entities that Wilkerson feels will better his program as the process gets underway, but the average basketball fan will unquestionably be curious as to the product on the basketball court come November when Shawe takes the floor.

Wilkerson acknowledges the fact that the Hilltoppers have struggled in recent years - 10-62 in the last three seasons - but feels that his style of play combining with a strong work ethic and a dedicated fan base can overcome the struggles of years past and make Shawe a competitor against any opponent.

"From an overall prospective we are going to focus on defense and rebounding," Wilkerson said of his style. "Coach (Bob) Knight always said it is a lot easier to teach a player to play defense and rebounding than it is to score. If we can incorporate that philosophy, I think we can be in a pretty good position and be successful. We're going to pack the house and I think we're in a very good spot. With the players returning, with our style of play and with our discipline we are going to incorporate, I think we will be able to compete with any 1A school in the state."

Players are set for open gyms all this week at Shawe High School under the guidance of Coach Wilkerson and he has stated that the coaching staff under Brown from a year ago will remain the same for the 2018-2019 season.

"I think with the staff we have in place, being that a lot of them are Shawe people, they care about this place," Wilkerson added. "Typically when you find people that care about a place then they are ready to work and we are ready to get to work."

Wilkerson becomes the fourth new head coach inside the Ohio River Valley Conference this offseason in boys basketball. Milan, Rising Sun and South Ripley have all introduced new head coaches in the last two months.