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Cal's Jake Wilkins: 'I Do Things Most People Aren’t Able to Do'

An intriguing player at Cal basketball's summer workouts is Jake Wilkins, who resembles Jaylen Brown when Brown was at Cal
Jake Curtis|
Jake Wilkins
Jake Wilkins | Photo by Jake Curtis

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California Golden Bears

New Cal forward Jake Wilkins wasn't boasting; in fact, he was barely audible when he said what everyone knows if they have seen him play:

"I do things most people aren't able to do," he said quietly after a Cal summer practice in mid-June.

Most players aren't able to do this:

And from another angle:

Earlier he demonstrated that same athleticism when he was a four-star high school prospect out of Loganville, Georgia, and often known as Jacob Wilkins.

As a freshman at Georgia last season, he resembled what Jaylen Brown could do as a freshman at Cal in the 2015-16 season. Brown exploded onto the scene with his impressive athleticism and his variety of dunks, while lacking an outside shot. Brown averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, but shot just 29.4 percent on three-pointers in his only season at Cal before becoming the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Wilkins showed the same kind of athleticism at Georgia, but made only 21.1 percent of his three-pointers and averaged just 10 minutes of playing time and 4.9 points in 2025-26.

Brown learned to shoot in the pros, twice making better than 39 percent of his long-range shots for a season in the NBA while being an all-star five times

Cal is hoping Wilkins can make the same progression.

He knows what his strengths are now

“I’d say being able to run the floor," Wilkins said. "I’m a good cutter, spot up threes, but I’d say mostly, playing above the rim.”

Playing above the rim and finishing off the break are what make Wilkins special at this point.

Cal head coach Mark Madsen gives Wilkins credit for his defense, particularly his ability to deflect passes with his long 6-foot-9 frame, before pouncing on Wilkins' best skill: "Transition finisher."

Comparisons to his father, Dominique Wilkins, the Human Highlight Film who wowed spectators with his variety of dunks, are unavoidable but premature. As a freshman at Georgia, Dominque averaged 18.6 points and increased that to 23.6 as a sophomore in 1980-81.

Jake Wilkins knows where he needs to improve, and some of it is working on his body. Listed at 6-foot-9, 185 pounds at Georgia last season, Wilkins realizes he needs to add muscle and improve his perimeter game.

“Honestly just getting stronger, shooting at a higher clip," he said. "My three-point last year wasn’t as high as it needed to be so this year that’s a main focal point, being able to shoot, being a reliable shooter."

Cal teammate Amier Ali has noticed Wilkins' improved three-point shooting.

“It’s just reps, all reps in the summer," Wilkins said. "Last year there were some things I needed to tweak, some things I needed to rip out.”

The potential is evident, and his versatility could make him indispensable.

“I’d say I’m a true three [small forward]." Wilkins said. "but if need be, if we go big, I can go two. If we go small, I can go four.”

He could play a guard spot?

“If need be," he said. "Whatever coach tells me to do I can do it.”

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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