'She's a fighter': Valdosta's Ahnye Wilkins signs with Andrew College

Sep. 6—VALDOSTA — Sometimes, to reach a higher level, all it takes is a push.

For Valdosta High point guard Ahnye Wilkins, her battle has never been about her skills on the court but inside her head.

Unsure if she even wanted to go to college after graduating from Valdosta High School in May, Wilkins' future on and off the hardwood was uncertain. But after taking the summer to weigh her options, she decided to play on — signing a letter of intent to attend Andrew College Tuesday afternoon.

"It definitely was a big step," Wilkins said. "I really came far because it was hard. It was really hard, and I'm just proud of myself and proud that I can make everyone else proud."

Wilkins' journey to signing with Andrew has been winding.

After appearing in just five games her junior season at Valdosta, Wilkins was dismissed from the team by head coach E.A. Wilcox.

"With Ahnye, we had some ups and downs," Wilcox said. "I had to kick her off the team her junior year. I kicked her off. I brought her back and gave her an opportunity again. I think she's learned from a lot of stuff. I didn't let her play her junior year. I said, 'Listen, you need to understand — basketball does not need you. You need basketball,' and she felt that. She understood that. So when she came back her senior year, she came back stronger. She came back more determined. She came back more focused."

The most important lesson she learned from being kicked off the team, Wilkins said, was to listen to her coaches and respect the game.

"You've got to respect your coach, respect the game, love the game," Wilkins said. "If you love the game, you will respect the game. I've learned a lot from Coach Wilcox. He's been with me since I was in sixth grade. He taught me a lot. He knew I could come this far, but I didn't believe in myself. I learned that I need to believe in myself a little more. All these people do, so why wouldn't I believe in me?"

With a second chance to get things right, Wilkins bounced back by becoming a key component to the team's success.

The 5-foot-1 point guard excelled as a scoring threat and defensive ace, but also showed a knack for throwing her body around and battling bigger players for rebounds.

In 25 games, Wilkins averaged 6.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.6 assists — finishing third on the team in points, total rebounds and steals as the Lady 'Cats posted a 17-11 record and earned a state playoff berth.

Wilkins emerged as one of Valdosta's best scorers, finishing with eight double-digit scoring games including a season-high 23 points, seven rebounds and eight steals to lead the Lady 'Cats past Northside in the region tournament Feb. 18.

Wilkins capped her senior season by joining senior center Delissa Kier and backcourt mate Denver Arnold on Region 1-6A's All-Region Second Team.

"The tenacity she plays with defensively and she has a don't quit attitude," Wilcox said when asked about Wilkins' fit at the college level. "She's got a chip on her shoulder because she's so small and people are always trying to tell her she's too small to do something. But because she does not quit on that court, she fights all the time — on and off the court. She's a fighter. She's like Allen Iverson in how she throws her body everywhere. She doesn't care if it's the biggest person or the smallest person; she's gonna go at it."

Fort Valley State, who already have two former Lady 'Cats on the roster in Amiya Allen and Ja'Nya Ferguson, signed Kier earlier this summer and was interested in signing Wilkins but ultimately went in a different direction.

"She told me at the end of the year that she really didn't want to go to college. I said, 'Why?'" Wilcox said. "I had a couple places she could've went to and Andrew was one of those places I could've gotten her to go to earlier. Fort Valley was wanting her badly, but then they went with a taller point guard and that coach ended up leaving. I thought I was going to sign Delissa and her but the other coach went with another point guard.

"She got discouraged. She was like, 'I'm just not going to go to college because they don't want me.' She really felt bad about it. She looked around after her senior year was over with and she called me back and said, 'Coach, I want to go.'"

Following Wilkins' signing Tuesday, she made the trip to Cuthbert, Georgia to start her academic career and continue chasing her hoop dreams.

In her experience playing for Wilcox, Wilkins praised the veteran coach's willingness to show her tough love and push her whenever necessary. As she heads to college, she will be looking to Andrew College head coach Cayla Moore to do the same.

To Wilkins, a coach that is willing to push her is a coach that cares.

"I feel like I need a hard coach — a coach that's going to be tough and push me, because I'm a difficult person so I need that so I can get where I'm trying to go," Wilkins said. "I'm going to need a coach that's going to work with me. I'm a little difficult but I need to know that you believe in me. It makes me want to do it.

"I know I can do it, but when they know I can do it, it boosts my confidence a lot. You wouldn't be pushing me if you knew I couldn't do it. I can do it...you've got to believe in yourself."

After signing her letter of intent, Wilkins tried and failed to hold back her tears seeing her coaches, friends and teammates show their support as she took a step toward a future she nearly gave up on.

Moving to Valdosta as a fourth-grader, Wilkins has fully adopted the Wildcat family as her own.

"Being here has meant a lot to me," Wilkins said. "I moved here from Waycross in fourth grade so I've always been a Wildcat. I'm really from here and I love all my people. Being a Wildcat....I'm gonna miss it. It's a great program and I've loved everybody."

Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.