Florida State University Athletics
Wilkinson Ready for Larger Role
10/8/2018 3:43:16 PM | Women's Basketball
When Savannah Wilkinson arrived in Tallahassee for her freshman season, she was anxious.
Upon arrival for her second year as a member of the Florida State Women’s Basketball team, she is experiencing those same feelings once more, but for different reasons.
Wilkinson returns for her sophomore year fresh off an impressive performance at the 2018 FIBA U-20 Women’s European Championship, representing her home nation of Great Britain.
The London native averaged 20.9 points and seven rebounds in seven competitions at the European Championship. She led all players with an average of 6.3 made free throws per game and placed second in points. Her most impressive outing came against Lithuania in the group stage, where she posted a 34-point performance and went 11-of-20 from the floor.
“I love playing for my national team. You feel so much pride and it’s an opportunity so many people want, and not many people get,” Wilkinson had to say on playing for Great Britain.
“The games were tough. It was an underexperienced group in that not many of us had played in the tournament before, so I had to lead in that way because I had. That was fun to go back to my leadership because having five seniors you don’t have to do the leading as much, so I had to go back to that. It was exciting, it was fun for me to show that I have improved so much since coming to Florida State.”
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Before coming to Florida State, Wilkinson enjoyed a life growing up in London. Her father was a kickboxer and her mom a swimmer, while she and her siblings all fell in love with the game of basketball. Today, Wilkinson is considered by many to be the top young player in Great Britain. She attributes much of her successes to her family and what they have taught her both on and off the court.
“I think since both of my parents were athletes, that’s definitely helped me a lot. They’re both obviously individual sports people, but they are very selfless people, so they definitely can understand a team sport and share their knowledge in that kind of way,” Wilkinson said. “Then my older brother, my older sister, and my little brother all play basketball now, which also helps because we all teach each other.”
When she arrived in Tallahassee, Wilkinson had to undergo a difficult adjustment period, one that Florida State Head Coach Sue Semrau has seen many of her international players go through.
“You’re far away from home and I think it’s a lot harder adjustment than any of the Americans have, but she did a fantastic job,” Semrau said. “She has an amazing family and that family has been behind her, behind us and it’s made her transition I think really smooth.”
Wilkinson averaged 2.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 9.1 minutes played off the bench in 24 games played in her freshman season, playing behind the winningest senior class in FSU Women’s Basketball history. In addition, she shot 43.3 percent from three-point range and 45.8 percent from the floor overall.
Her experiences from her freshman year coupled with her time with the U-20 Great Britain National Team has set her up to be a major contributor for the Seminoles this season, especially in regard to her long-range abilities.
“I think she’s put herself in a position to have a very impactful role on our team this year, especially after playing with her national team,” Semrau said. “This summer she gained a lot of valuable experience and she came back extremely fit. We’re excited about what she’s bringing so far.”
Wilkinson will have a much larger role in the season ahead as one of the few returners on a Seminoles team that lost its entire starting five from a year ago. She is anxious to take on the responsibility though, as she feels much more confident with a year of collegiate experience under her belt.
“I will always step up when there’s a leadership role available. I think it’s exciting to be able to take responsibility when you have the young ones around because it takes pressure off them and I’ve experienced that now,” Wilkinson said. “If I take some pressure off of them, then they can just do what they need to do which is be the great basketball players that they are.”
Looking at this Seminoles team, it isn’t as recognizable as years past. However, Wilkinson and her teammates are looking forward to the challenge. With this years’ group having nothing to prove to anyone else, they feel as though they have a lot to prove to themselves.
“I think my goal for this season is to make sure we all have as little stress as possible. We have expectations for ourselves because we know we’re all good basketball players, but we have nothing to lose this season,” Wilkinson said.
“Now we just have to go out and compete at a high level, enjoy the game, and just win.”