When Lamar Wilkerson began receiving seven-figure offers to transfer from Sam Houston to a high-major school in the spring, he called his coach with an unusual offer.
Wherever he landed, Wilkerson wanted to donate a portion of his name, image and likeness earnings back to Sam Houston for helping him get to this spot in his career.
“Coach, this is something I want to do,” Sam Houston coach Chris Mudge remembered Wilkerson saying.
“Dude, you don’t have to.”
“No. I want to.”
Once Wilkerson arrived at Indiana this summer, he made good on his promise, donating a six-figure amount to his former school. Mudge says it’s one of the largest donations ever to the basketball program at Sam Houston, a Conference USA school in Huntsville, Texas. It’s also perhaps the first of its kind, a new twist in an era where schools can pay players directly through revenue-sharing.
“I haven’t heard of that happening very much,” Mudge said, quickly catching himself, “if at all.”
NBA players have given back to their alma maters, but there had yet to be a donation made by a current college player made public, likely because it hadn’t happened. Wilkerson never intended for his donation to become public, but it gained attention this week when Field of 68 podcaster Jeff Goodman heard about the donation and asked Wilkerson about it during a show on IU’s campus.
ICYMI: @IndianaMBB’s Lamar Wilkerson made a six-figure donation to Sam Houston State:
“I did it out of love, man. I was there for 3 years. It was home. I want to see them thrive”
FULL INTERVIEW ⬇️https://t.co/ZLtMfSlWwh pic.twitter.com/Td7WzJWnj0
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) September 11, 2025
Wilkerson, who didn’t disclose exact numbers of his donation or NIL earnings, did it because of his love for Mudge and the program, he said.
“We were a small school, so we didn’t have a lot of resources,” he told The Athletic on Friday. “We didn’t have a lot in the collective. With what Indiana gave to me and being able to give back, I had plenty enough to do both. It just felt right. It felt like something I wanted to do. I want to see them keep getting better. I know they had to try to go find a guy like me again. So without money in today’s basketball, today’s NCAA, that’s hard.”
Wilkerson was already a rarity in this era of the transfer portal and NIL. In 2023-24, he was the leading scorer for the Bearkats on a team that won the Conference USA regular-season title. He made first-team all-conference, which is often a ticket to a bigger program. The transfer portal is filled every offseason with all-conference players from the mid-major level. Wilkerson had overtures from high-major schools interested in him transferring, but never went into the portal. He could have made at least six figures last season had he decided to leave.
And by staying, he was forfeiting the chance to earn significant money in college. Wilkerson, who played one year of junior-college basketball before transferring to Sam Houston, was a true senior last season. At the time, the NCAA’s ruling allowing players who had attended junior college an extra year of eligibility had not been decided yet.
Wilkerson stayed because he wanted to get the Bearkats to an NCAA Tournament — they were upset in the conference semifinals in 2024, and in a one-bid league, were left out of the postseason.
“He’s the loyal kid who cares about the people and felt like this was home and wanted to do something special here,” Mudge said. “He didn’t want to be just another guy. He wanted to be someone that made a legacy that was remembered for doing something that other people hadn’t done here at Sam Houston, and that was his ultimate driver.”
Wilkerson had a special season individually, averaging 20.5 points and shooting 44.5 percent from 3, but everything else fell apart around him. Injuries derailed Sam Houston’s season, and the Bearkats won just 13 games.
Once the NCAA announced the junior-college waiver, it became clear that the 2024-25 season would be Wilkerson’s last at Sam Houston. He became a hot name early in the season after scoring 19 points and making five 3-pointers against Baylor. He told Mudge right away that he didn’t want to deal with thinking about what would be next.
Let’s just try to do the best we can with this team.
“That was impressive to see how he could do that,” Mudge said. “Because I know how much I was getting inundated about him. And I can only imagine what it was like for him specifically. He’d show me text, calls, whatever, and it was crazy.”
Wilkerson credits Mudge and Sam Houston for that maturity level. His journey is also a point of pride. He grew up in Ashdown, a small town in southern Arkansas with a population of 4,088, according to the last census. He was lightly recruited out of high school and signed to play at Division II Northeastern State University in Oklahoma. When Northeastern State’s coach left for Arkansas Tech, Wilkerson reopened his recruitment and wasn’t getting any calls. He ended up working at a Husqvarna Outdoor Products factory that made commercial power equipment, chainsaws and lawn mowers while he waited for a chance.
A friend going to Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College connected him with the coach, and he left for the factory for Poplar Bluff, a small town in Southeast Missouri. Wilkerson spent one season at Three Rivers, eventually getting discovered by former Sam Houston assistant Justin Bailey at a junior-college showcase.
Lamar Wilkerson, who played against Indiana last year, is expected to play a key role for the Hoosiers in his final college season. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)
Wilkerson said he arrived at Sam Houston undisciplined. He matured quickly, adopting a regimented schedule with better eating, sleeping and workout habits.
“He took just such a big jump because he’s one of the hardest workers you can imagine,” Mudge said. “His talent level and his work ethic and his care factor just took him to another level. He turned himself into an NBA player just by work.”
Wilkerson said Mudge played a big part, giving him confidence after his first season when he’d averaged just 7.4 points per game. That offseason, Mudge became head coach after Jason Hooten left for New Mexico State, and Mudge encouraged Wilkerson to stay and help him build something special.
“He kept me grounded,” Wilkerson said. “He showed me how to handle my business off the court, but also leave my feelings and stuff at the door and handle that business on the court as well.”
Wilkerson is grateful for where he’s come from. In addition to the Sam Houston donation, he also held a free basketball camp this summer near his hometown. Cody Hopkins, Wilkerson’s agent, said making sure his agency would help him set up the camp was the first thing he asked about in the recruiting process.
“He didn’t grow up on the grassroots circuit where he was publicized for many years,” Hopkins said. “He gets this, and the first thing he thinks about is how he got there.”
As for his donation to Sam Houston, it went to the basketball budget and is being utilized in multiple ways.
Mudge and Wilkerson continue to talk almost weekly. Wilkerson is invested in how the Bearkats perform this season and in the years to come. He’s not finished giving back, either. He hopes to be in the NBA in a year and said he plans to continue donating to Sam Houston.
“I’m blessed to be able,” he said. “It’s home, and to see them keep getting better every year would be fantastic.”
(Top photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
