Houston Cougars guard Mylik Wilson (8) dunks the ball against Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) during the second half of an NCAA men’s college basketball game, Monday, March 3, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Oscar Herrera/The Cougar
As red and white confetti rained down inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the celebration was on for Houston, which had just secured its seventh Final Four appearance in program history.
Players and coaches embraced their families, posed for photos, and took turns cutting down the net, a tradition that’s become familiar for the Cougars.
After every tournament win, one player gets the honor of slapping the team’s name on the bracket, signaling Houston has survived and advanced to another round.
It could have been redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp, whose three straight 3-pointers in the second half helped bury Tennessee. Or graduate guard L.J. Cryer, who scored a team-high 17 points to punch his ticket to a second Final Four.
Instead, it was graduate guard Mylik Wilson, whose status had been in limbo just 36 hours earlier, slapping the Houston name on the board.
Wilson’s quick recovery
After soaring for a rebound and crashing down on the hardwood, Wilson had to exit the second half of Houston’s game against Purdue for concussion evaluation after landing on his head.
With such a quick turnaround between Friday’s 9:09 p.m. Sweet 16 contest and the Elite Eight game against Tennessee that awaited at 1:20 p.m. on Sunday, the following day would be crucial in determining his status.
Wilson spent much of Saturday in his hotel room resting and recovering while his teammates practiced and prepared.
But before Houston got to game-planning against Tennessee, one of its leaders made sure to be there for Wilson.
Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts, Wilson’s roommate, stayed up until 4 a.m. Saturday morning, alongside him, as the rest of his teammates slept from the hard-fought 62-60 win over Purdue.
“Just trying to comfort him, just let him know that we got you,” Roberts said. “You know, you probably can’t be with us physically. We know if he was, practicing with us and stuff, the heart that you have.”
As Saturday carried on, and Wilson’s condition gradually improved, he left his hotel room for lunch, where he was met by the rest of the team, who all went up to him for some encouragement.
“Everybody came and gave me hugs and handshakes. Just showing their support,” Wilson said. “I just wanted to go out there and be with my brothers.”
Sunday morning gave him that chance. He was upgraded to available per coach Kelvin Sampson, and “available” for Wilson means two words: he’s playing.
Too tough for Tennessee
Wilson stuffed the stat sheet, scoring three points, dishing out four assists, while grabbing seven rebounds and racking up a steal and an emphatic block.
His 3-pointer late in the second half helped push the Cougars’ lead to 17.
Wilson, a midrange and paint-scoring savant, has only taken 36 threes all season, but he has a knack for making them count under the bright lights.
He showed it when he knocked down a game-tying triple against the Kansas Jayhawks to force a double overtime in late January, and proved it yet again on Sunday afternoon.
“Mylik is one of the most underappreciated players on the team,” Cryer said. “We definitely appreciate all the little things he did, I’m glad he had a moment like that to hit a big shot for us.”
An impact beyond scoring
Though Wilson had the ability to score in some of his other stops throughout his career, he flashed all the little things that Sampson predicates and his teammates praise him for.
Those “little things” are rebounding on the offensive and defensive glass, hustling for loose balls, getting steals, deflections, and playing hard-nosed basketball for all 40 minutes of a game.
“Mylik has great intangibles. Intangibles is you either have it or you don’t,” Sampson said.
This season, more than any in his career, Wilson has shown those intangibles every time he takes the court.
Wilson’s rebounding percentage (14.0%) and offensive rebounding percentage (7.6%) are the highest marks of his career.
Like anything, all the success on the court begins in practice for the Cougars, but Wilson didn’t become the ultimate glue guy overnight.
“He did not come in here with that consistency of effort in practice. But because he’s such a great kid, and such a great teammate, this program has helped him in all the areas he needed help in,” Sampson said.
Both marks, alongside his 4.5% steal percentage, are the highest amongst all active guards on the Cougars, in a program that demands rebounding from the guard position like few others do.
Wilson may not have chosen to be the face of hustle for this year’s Cougars team, but it’s what he’s become with his tenacious energy, the pick-pockets for slams he seems to get once per game, or the “where did he come from” offensive boards.
And the same way hustle chose him, his teammates chose him to advance Houston to the Final Four.
“To get to this moment, it’s just great,” Wilson said. “I’m just proud of this team, and proud of this program. We still got some more games to go, so we’re just going to enjoy this and be happy.”
Wilson and the Cougars will face off against Duke on Sunday at 7:49 p.m.
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“Mylik Wilson: The unsung hero behind Houston’s Final Four push” was originally posted on The Cougar