Latrell Wilson playing for the Dublin Lions. Photos provided by Latrell Wilson.
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Fresh out of college, Arcata’s full-time baller and part-time model Latrell Wilson was ready to live out his dream of playing professional basketball overseas.
In November, he signed with the Dublin, Ireland Lions, and in December he booked a one-way ticket to Europe. But a month and a half into his pro career, his dream was cut short.
During his second game for the Lions he was playing lights out, scoring 30 points in 18 minutes of play. But when a defender checked him during a fourth-quarter layup, his body and life were thrown off balance.
“One of my teammates shot a long three and I got the rebound,” Wilson recalled. “It was a 2-on-2 fast break. I was driving toward the basket and a defender tried to run in front of me to steal the ball.”
That’s when his left knee gave out.
“When i got up, my knee hyperextended and I felt a pop,” he said. “I went to jog it off, and as soon as I put weight on it my knee buckled. I was like ‘damn, that’s not good.’”
Wilson’s Dublin home.
The team doctor confirmed his worst fears: a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a partially torn meniscus. His short-lived season was over. Needing surgery, Wilson returned to Portland, epicenter of his college basketball and modeling careers.
“I was pretty depressed at first because I had never had an injury or surgery,” Wilson said. “But my dad said ‘you were lucky enough to play your whole college career without an injury.’ I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I don’t know the reason for this yet, but hopefully I can get back injury-free and keep playing.”
Despite his unfortunate injury, Wilson said he enjoyed his time in the Emerald Isle.
Wilson coaching younger teams on his Irish club.
“I was very happy about the opportunity to travel, it was my first time going to Europe,” Wilson said. “Ireland was amazing, Dublin’s a pretty touristy destination so living there was cool.”
Glendalough, Ireland.
“Everyone drives on the other side to the road, even crossing the road I looked the wrong way first,” he said with a laugh. “It was a lot of fun, I didn’t get to explore as much as I wanted to, but I still saw a lot of stuff. Hopefully I’ll go back there next year and not get hurt.”
Dublin, Ireland.
For now, Wilson is back in Arcata, lying low, rehabbing his knee, waiting for his next shot at the bigs.
His injury, although not career-ending thanks to modern medicine, required a serious operation. Wilson said doctors removed two pieces of his hamstring tendon and turned them into a new knee ligament. Then a couple of holes were drilled into his bone and plastic screws were put in to hold it all together. Wilson was told by doctors that the average person needs about 9 to 12 months of rehab to recover from the surgery. His goal is to get back on the court in 10 months, just enough time for next season.
Donabate beach.
“Ten months is aggressive but safe. I do physical therapy twice a week and exercise everyday,” he said. “Two or three hours of my day consist of body weight exercises and I have to ice my knee five times a day. Doctors say I’m already ahead of schedule.”
Based on his brief yet stellar performances for the Dublin Lions, Wilson said the team expressed interest in his return next season.
Latrell Wilson: Arcata native. Latrell Wilson: model.
“They already said if I can get back where I was, they’ll take me back in a heartbeat,” he said. “I made a pretty good impression.”
In the meantime, he plans to fall back into his sports modeling career, which took off unexpectedly after his former college coach connected him with an agency last year. Since then he’s modeled for major bands like Nike, Jordan and Adidas.
“They know I’m back now, and they want to work with me this summer,” he said. “I can still model clothes, but Jordan photoshoots of me dunking over people aren’t going to be in the cards for this summer.”
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