Wilsons in Basketball | Ep.12

Here in the usa, the NBA Championship series has finished and the NBA draft started yesterday.

So this week our theme is about Wilson's relating to the game of basketball.

And did you notice that during the NBA Finals every point was scored by Wilson?

Welcome to the Cuz Wilson show where we talk about people, places and things named Wilson.

I'm your Cuz and Wilsonologist Kenny Wilson.

In case you missed our last episode, we talked about Wilson's in the game of ice hockey because the Stanley cup finals were being played and it's also finished.

So here's a review of the people, places and things we're going to talk about today.

Our People category is packed full of Wilson's.

In basketball, we learn about a college referee named Wilson, we learn about some coaches named Wilson, we learn about a current pro basketball player, and we learn about the NBA draft where the Chicago Bills chose a 19 year old named Wilson to be on their team.

This week in our Places category, we spotlight a small town with Wilson in its name, but it's got a high school that has produced over 40 professional basketball players and a couple of hall of Famers too.

It's amazing.

In the Things category I'll explain the statement that I said about every point scored during the NBA Finals was a Wilson.

And then we'll talk about a new basketball that can't go flat.

And then of course we'll have our category of Wilson's in the news and Wilson's in Sports in the News.

Now if you are new to our podcast, I want to make sure you know that I utilize a couple of AI hosts from Google's Notebook LM that helped me with some graphics and details.

I use the last two letters of Notebook LM to name them Larry and Mary.

So let's go play some hoops baby.

And now it's time for the People.

Category to start off our People category.

I want to go back to history and find out some talented Wilsons in basketball.

Wilson.

Now, just to let you know, I'm going to do a separate episode for women named Wilson in basketball towards the end of the WNBA season that just started.

While there aren't any Wilsons inducted into the Naismith Basketball hall of Fame, there are several players and coaches named Wilson who are in the hall of Fame of the States where they played.

I'm going to start off with the unsung heroes of the game, the referees.

What if your day at work involved thousands of people yelling at you for almost every decision or even a non decision you made?

Parents screaming at you and blaming you for actions that their son made when he was breaking the rules of the game.

Or coaches blaming you for a loss when they were clearly outplayed by the other team.

Well, it takes a special person, or some would say wacko, to be a referee.

And even more amazing, what if you did that for 30 years?

Well, that's what Stephen Wilson did.

He started out as a basketball player and he was good at that.

But then he transitioned to a 42 year career in education.

He spent 30 years as a basketball referee and he rose to the national stage by officiating in the Division 1 category with the NCAA, the NIT and the NAIA postseason tournaments as well.

In one of his games, he even suffered a heart attack mid game and that led to a quadruple bypass.

Amazingly, he returned to the court and continued his career.

He's a tough cookie.

Steve was also a founding member of the Washington association of College Officials.

Funny enough, the initials and the nickname of this association is Waco.

And you'd have to be wacko to do that for a living.

Now, for our listeners outside the usa, the slang word for wacko means crazy.

Now, there's another job on the court that gets a lot of blame too.

But I'm not going to point fingers at some of these coaches named Wilson.

I'm going to offer up some praise for their dedication and their hard work in their trade for their teams.

So here are a few amazing Wilsons from the sidelines.

Our first coach is Willis Wilson.

During his 16 year tenure as head coach at Rice University from 1992 to 2008, he compiled 219 wins, making him the winningest men's basketball coach in all of Rice history.

And he was even named Coach of the year in 1999.

Coach Ted Wilson was a legendary figure at linfield University from 1961 to 1981.

He had over 300 wins and the school gymnasium there is named in his honor.

Our last coach is Kyle Wilson.

He was inducted into his school's hall of Fame just last year.

He was the winningest basketball coach in school history with over 376 victories.

And Coach Kyle had such a dork philosophy, he called it that because is D for defend over offensively apathetic and R for rebound and K is for know your role on the court.

And now let's go pro with the NBA players named Wilson in history.

George Wilson was a historical great who won an NCAA championship with the University of Cincinnati in 1962.

He's a member of the Cincinnati Athletics hall of Fame he's also a member of the Chicagoland Sports hall of Fame and the Ohio Basketball hall of Fame.

And he also is a gold medal winner from the 1964 Olympic Games.

But also in 1964, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals.

You ever heard of them?

Well, they eventually moved to Kansas City and then they moved to Sacramento.

They are now the Sacramento Kings.

Let me do a pick and roll and pass the ball to Mary to tell you more about George Wilson's career.

Hey everyone, let's dive right into this explainer about the absolutely incredible dual legacy of George Jiff Wilson.

So what actually connects a 1964 Olympic gold medalist to an 1830s abolitionist landmark?

Let's find out.

You see, Wilson had a totally unique gift, successfully leading two vastly different teams to victory.

Starting in Chicago, Big George absolutely dominated, racking up 2,216 high school points.

He literally rocketed from high school champ in 58 all the way to Olympic gold by 1964.

His coach praised his wild agility, saying he could jump just like the Jif peanut butter mascot.

But at the 64 Tokyo Olympics, America's insane 37 game winning streak was suddenly in serious jeopardy.

With the clock ticking down, George stepped up big time, sinking two clutch jump shots to save it.

The US Took home the gold, cementing Wilson as the ultimate undefeated basketball champion for sure.

Jumping straight into the NBA, he became a sought after defensive anchor during a massive league expansion era.

But get this, his most surprising impact happened off the court.

Reviving the historic Harriet Beecher Stowe house.

He turned the restoration into a mentorship program, helping troubled teens become super skilled, confident craftsmen.

Together, this awesome crew added modern restrooms, fixed historic windows, and literally saved the house from destruction.

It's an amazing dual legacy, right?

A fierce competitor who became a deeply compassionate community steward, Wilson proved that the exact same discipline learned on the court can literally rebuild an entire community.

So how are you going to use your own unique talents to be a champion for your community?

I can see why so many teams, and especially expansion teams, wanted George on their team.

George went on to play for six different teams in his seven years as a pro.

Next on the team is another player who played on several teams.

Wilson Chandler played on five NBA teams in his 13 seasons.

He's best known for his tenures with the New York Knicks, who happened to win this year's NBA championship.

And he was also with the Denver Nuggets.

But basketball isn't Chandler's only skill and passion.

Since I live in Denver, Colorado, I'm really excited to Have Mary review the life and star who played here for the Denver Nuggets for several years.

Mary, it's time to do a full court press on Wilson Chandler's career and his new direction.

Welcome to this explainer.

Let's map Wilson Chandler's wild evolution from NBA star to biohacking community entrepreneur.

Seriously, how does an elite athlete completely reinvent himself after grueling injuries and major systemic roadblocks?

It all starts on the hardwood, right?

He battled through 676 absolutely grueling NBA games.

His early dominance totally laid the groundwork leading to a 2025 DePaul Athletics hall of Fame induction.

But get this.

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Chandler made a fiercely strategic global pivot.

He took his talents to China and literally dropped 43 points in his very first game.

Back stateside.

Severe hip and joint injuries forced a crazy unexpected pivot to toward alternative healing and biohacking to crush inflammation.

He ditched standard acid heavy sports diets for a strict alkaline plant based lifestyle.

The result?

Chandler saw incredible gains in recovery, stamina and mental clarity from going totally vegan.

But navigating holistic therapeutic recovery within strict professional sports frameworks, yeah, that proved to be highly complex.

In 2019, he hit a major hurdle involving Ipamorelin which is a banned synthetic peptide.

He got a 25 game suspension.

Maintaining the clinician prescribed rehab treatment was just an unintentional violation.

Retiring with corporate literacy from offseason internships, Chandler launched his absolute most ambitious play yet.

He engineered a restorative commerce model right in his hometown of Benton Harbor, Michigan.

In 2022, he made history opening Nobody's Home, the city's first black owned cannabis dispensary.

This wasn't just retail.

It was a systemic economic reclamation project employing and educating local residents.

That deep philanthropic impact even earned him a well deserved spot in the 40 under 40 class.

So how will the next generation of athletes use Chandler's blueprint to build real community equity?

I love a good story about entrepreneurs named Wilson.

You know there's a lot of professional athletes that after they retire they just put their name on a restaurant or some business.

But.

But they're usually not the heart and soul of that business like Wilson Chandler.

But what about Wilson's in professional basketball today?

Well, currently Jalen Wilson is a forward for the New York Brooklyn Nets.

He's got a fantastic college background.

Wilson had a such a career at the University of Kansas.

He was a key member of the 2022 NCAA championship team and was highly honored during his junior year of 22 and 23, he was named the consensus first team All American.

He was the Big 12 player of the year, and he also won the Julius Irving Award.

That's amazing.

But this year there's a new kid on the block.

Or should I say new Wilson on the block.

We need to keep our eyes on Caleb Wilson, who like a hitchhiker, he had his thumb out and was picked up by the Chicago Bulls, who happened to be passing by.

Welcome to the Explainer.

Today we're diving into the insane, abruptly tragic freshman season of a College hoops phenom.

4.9 Million bucks.

That staggering number hides one of the wildest stories in modern college sports.

So whose valuation is that?

It's Caleb Wilson, the 6 foot 10 forward who literally took North Carolina by storm.

In less than a year, he skyrocketed from high school champ to UNC's most hyped breakout star.

Facing off against Kansas, massively hyped top recruit, Wilson unleashed total Mamba mentality.

It was incredible.

Dropping 24 points, he completely owned the national stage and led the Tar Heels to a huge win.

But it wasn't just stats.

His high school principal praised his team first vibe and actually comparing him to Magic Johnson.

You see, Wilson was the Supercharged glue, a totally selfless leader keeping his squad connected with elite positivity.

He brought that exact energy to college, instantly becoming an all American and dropping nearly 20 points a game.

But right as his stardom peaked, a super bizarre twist of fate struck our young phenom.

Get this.

He broke his left hand, recovered, then tragically broke his right thumb just dunking.

Weeks later, without their supercharged Glue, a completely derailed UNC lost three of their final four postseason matchups, still averaging almost 20 points in 10 boards over 24 games.

That's an absolutely staggering rookie feat.

Now we're left with a massive unresolved cliffhanger for this young superstar's basketball future.

Going back to that mind blowing $4.9 million Nil valuation from fans.

Take.

With millions waiting, does he cash out and go pro or return to UNC for the ultimate redemption?

Man, isn't that going to be cool to watch Caleb on the Chicago Bulls team this season?

Now, you may know that Caleb Wilson had a couple of hand injuries last year, and I'm thinking that the Chicago Bulls should have Caleb Wilson Visit Dr. Joyce Wilson in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Dr. Wilson is an orthopedic surgeon and she specializes in hand and sports injuries.

Hey, Larry, cut to the chase for the short review of Dr. Wilson's expertise.

Welcome to this explainer.

Today we explore Dr. Joyce Wilson's incredible expertise with sports related hand injuries.

As athletes, we know healthy hands are absolutely crucial.

Dr. Wilson's mission, fixing them when things inevitably break.

And her credentials, top notch.

She brings elite subspecialty hand fellowship training right to Jefferson City.

At JCMG Orthopaedics, she literally patches up everyone from high school quarterbacks to retired weekend golfers.

Mediafind actually rates her as an advanced expert in common sports ailments like tennis elbow and tendonitis.

Let's look at real CMS data to see exactly how she heals those stubborn tendons and ligaments.

Records show she relies heavily on targeted injections, giving athletes that rapid pain relief they crave.

She also performs hundreds of quick joint aspirations to drain fluid and knock out active inflammation fast.

But what happens when an athlete suffers a sudden traumatic bone fracture right on the field?

To manage these, she uses specialized elbow to finger casts to completely stabilize serious arm and wrist trauma.

She also frequently treats broken radius bones near the thumb, often without even needing open surgery.

It's a perfect balance, right?

Mixing minimally invasive athletic treatments with comprehensive, complex surgical fixes for severe trauma.

She tackles complex operations like transferring tendons to fully restore your crucial hand movement.

Her ultimate goal is simple.

Eliminate pain, restore your mechanics, and get you back in action fast.

Which leaves us wondering, are you taking the right steps to protect your own joints today?

Well, isn't it amazing that there's always a Wilson somewhere who has a solution to almost any specific problem that we have?

I'm probably going to have carpal tunnel syndrome from all this research I'm doing on all these amazing Wilsons in the world.

Now, there's another Wilson who has some of the best moves in hoops.

And when I say in hoops, I mean in hoops.

I'll do a fast break and pass it over to Mary to help me with this ADD problem I have.

Hey, guys, I'm Mary.

Welcome to this explainer.

Today we're exploring how one hula hoop transformed an entire city.

Sounds impossible, right?

But the economic ripple effect of this simple plastic toy is absolutely real.

Let's dive in.

It all starts with Katie Wilson.

Her crazy journey went from a viral YouTube video to the Dubai World Expo.

Check out her creativity.

She actually invented a hula hoop that literally shoots paint using centripetal force.

That kinetic energy ripples into visual art, creating these absolutely stunning, vibrant public murals all across central Arkansas.

But you know, those flashy live performances and beautiful murals, they're really just one piece of the puzzle.

The reality is the grind.

Katie handles her own bookings and logistics, all while working a regular nine to five.

As Katie says, self motivation is her number one skill.

You've got to be your own strict supervisor.

She took that intense self discipline and totally scaled it up.

Stepping in to direct the organization Create Conway.

Alongside founder Jessica Crum, she designed the Conway Art Walk to put local creatives on display every single month.

They bring together amazing regional artists, musicians and food trucks.

For eight massive months out of the year.

The streets just come alive.

You can grab a drink, listen to DJs and even get your hands dirty.

But this creative energy doesn't just look good.

It generates hard, undeniable economic impact for the whole city.

Get this, the Art Walk draws an astounding 2,000 visitors a month straight into the city center.

And here's the kicker.

The average patron spends over $31 entirely outside of the event admission.

That money flows straight into local restaurants and shops, creating a massive immediate economic ripple effect downtown.

This directly drives up sales tax revenue, sustains commercial leases, and builds serious brand awareness for the area.

Founder Jessica Crum points out that this kind of cultural branding creates a ripple effect with decades of impact.

Ultimately, their grand vision is transforming Central Arkansas into a united, powerful regional destination for arts and culture.

So I'll leave you with this exciting what creative spark is waiting to ignite your own community?

Well, I'll definitely be going to that festival someday because my brothers, because my brother is an artist in Northwest Arkansas and his youngest son lives in Conway, Arkansas.

Like Katie.

Now, before we go to our places category named Wilson Relating to basketball, I want to remind you that our show notes and chapters on our episodes are on our website@cuzwilson.com that's C U Z wilson.com While you're there, scroll down a little bit and find some Wilson's involved in your favorite hobby or profession.

And click on one of the icons and see prominent Wilsons in that field on that home page at the top right of the menu bar.

Hover over that black button on the menu bar labeled More.

There you're going to find some more interesting pages about Wilson's.

Now next to the More button, there's a really cool feature on our website.

It's the search icon and it's a very powerful tool to find things inside our website.

You can search for any word that might show up in our podcast episodes or buried somewhere in all the pages of the site and there's a lot of information there.

So if you're looking for a certain topic, try that first.

It might save you some time.

And now it's time for the Places catalog.

Back in our episode nine, we learned about folk music at Warren Wilson College in Asheville.

Let's start dribbling north for about two and a half days.

It's on the second oldest river in the world.

To drive two and a half hours northeast to this next town named Wilson.

And it's a great place in the southwest corner of the state of Virginia.

It's got a fun Wilson name and it's a small town of about 1500 residents.

Only 17 miles away is Mount Rogers.

And that's the highest peak in the state of Virginia.

It's a beautiful, beautiful area.

There's a big reason why this relates to basketball.

So I'll do a bounce pass over to Larry and let him tell us how.

Okay, so picture this.

Deep in the mountains of rural Virginia, there's this tiny boarding school.

I'm talking just 150 students.

But from this super remote campus, a basketball machine has been churning out NBA superstars for decades.

Like literally shaping the future of the sport.

Let's just start with the number 34.

Seriously, just keep that number 34 in your head for a second.

What could that possibly mean in the world of high school hoops?

Well, that number is the absolute pinnacle of high school achievement.

We're talking about 34 McDonald's, all Americans.

I mean, that is an insane concentration of top tier elite talent.

And here's the kicker, right?

That number, it's not from a whole state or some huge city.

Nope, that's the all time record.

And it all comes from that one tiny school we were talking about in mouth of Wilson, Virginia.

Oak Hill Academy.

So you gotta ask, how did they do it?

What's the secret sauce here?

How does a tiny boarding school become a legendary basketball factory?

Well, that's exactly what we're gonna break down.

Okay, so to really get Oak Hill, you first have to understand the system that it pretty much perfected.

It's called the Academy model.

Now, this is not your typical high school experience.

Not even close.

The Academy model, it's a completely immersive environment.

Think of it like a pro or a top tier college program, but for teenagers.

They literally live, study and breathe basketball all in one super structured place.

And the difference is?

Well, it's night and day.

You know, most of us went to a high school where you played local teams, maybe you aimed for a state title.

But in the academy world, it's a whole Other universe.

These players are flying all over the country, living in dorms.

And look, their goal isn't just a trophy.

It's about getting ready for a professional career.

And the thing you have to understand is none of this is by accident.

It is all by design.

The isolation, that's not a bug.

It's a feature.

It's meant to get rid of all the normal teenage distractions so you can have this intense, singular focus.

The structure with mandatory study halls and all that, it builds a kind of discipline most players don't see until they hit a D1 college campus.

And the academics aren't some afterthought either.

With an average class size of just nine students, the focus is insane.

You put all that together with a killer national schedule, and boom, you've got the blueprint.

But you know, a blueprint is just a piece of paper without the right builder.

And for Oak Hill, that builder was the legendary coach Steve Smith.

He's the guy who took this model and forged a dynasty.

I mean, under Coach Smith, Oak Hill's rise was just relentless.

He started building this thing in the 80s, gets his first national title in 93.

And by the 2000s, the school was the place to be if you were a future superstar.

By the time he hung it up, the program had the highest winning percentage in American high school history.

Let that sink in for a second.

And what does that dominance get you?

Well, it gets you this.

Nine.

Nine national championships.

Look, for most programs, winning just one is a dream come true.

Winning nine, that puts you in a class all by yourself.

It's legendary stuff.

And this is the ultimate payoff right here.

I mean, look at this list.

This isn't just a bunch of good players.

This is a who's who of NBA legends and all stars.

We're talking Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo.

It just goes on and on.

For decades, Oak Hill wasn't just a high school.

It was the premier pipeline to the NBA.

But you know how it goes in sports.

No king rules forever.

The game changes, and new challengers always rise.

And for Oak Hill, that new challenge came from a school down in Florida that took their blueprint and ran with it.

And lately, the shift in power has been.

Well, it's been dramatic.

Since 2021, the head to head with Monverde Academy has been completely one sided.

They.

They've played seven times.

Monverde has won all seven.

The throne is absolutely being challenged.

Okay, but let's put this in perspective for a second.

While Mont Verde clearly has the Hot hand right now.

This is a true battle of the titans.

Oak Hill's all time numbers are still just staggering.

34 All Americans, nine national titles.

Now Montverde is coming on strong, no doubt.

17 All Americans in seven titles of their own is nothing to sneeze at.

They've still got a way to go to match Oak Hill's sheer history.

But right now, they are absolutely the new gold standard.

So what do you do when you're a legendary program and your crown is slipping?

How do you respond?

Well, Oak Hill's answer was pretty incredible.

They decided to look back into their own amazing past to shape their future.

And what a story this is.

We're talking about Carmelo Anthony, one of the guys who literally defined Oak Hill's golden era.

He's come completely full circle, arrives as a top prospect, becomes an absolute legend in the NBA.

And now he's back leading the whole basketball program as co general manager.

And his mission, you can tell, is crystal clear.

This isn't just some figurehead job.

He's there to pass on everything he learned.

The experience, the mentality, the culture that made him a Hall of Famer to the next generation of kids who are dreaming of following that same path.

So what's the big takeaway here?

What does this all mean?

Well, this whole story is about way more than just wins and losses or some high school rivalry.

It's really about a fundamental shift in how the best of the best athletes are developed.

Yeah, the key thing to remember is that schools like Oak Hill and Mont Verde, they're basically incubators for the next generation of superstars.

What happens on these quiet, remote campuses has a direct line to who you're going to be watching in the Final Four and the NBA Finals for years to come.

They really are at the very top of the basketball food chain.

And that leaves us with a really fascinating question for the future.

Right?

I mean, the whole world of amateur sports is changing so fast.

You've got nil deals where college players are making millions and pro alternatives like the G League ignite, where kids can just skip college altogether.

So in this brand new world, what happens to these basketball factories?

Are they more important than ever for creating that foundation, or are they kind of becoming a relic of a past era?

It's a huge question.

And honestly, the future of basketball development is hanging right there in the balance.

Can you believe all the talent that's been produced from that small town?

That's incredible.

You know, all you have to do is name a town.

Wilson.

And hang on Because.

Because history will be made there.

Where the foul?

Where's the foul?

Rap.

That missed call was a joke.

And even worse than this Uncle Willie joke.

Well, well, now you see why I don't want to be a basketball referee.

You miss one foul and some tall dude is yelling at you.

Now I'm kind of scared to tell you about this episode's Uncle Willie joke.

And, and this one even involves one of those referees violations.

Okay, here we go.

Why don't basketball players go on vacation?

They could be penalized for traveling.

And now it's time for the things category.

In episode 11, we talked about the National Hockey League's Stanley cup.

But there's a bunch of others.

Championship cups and other sports.

And some of them have Wilson in the name of the cup.

Mary, tell us how winning the Wilson cup in college basketball in Canada is no slam dunk.

Welcome to the Explainer.

Today we're tracking the totally grueling path to Canadian collegiate basketball glory.

Okay, let's dive into this.

What does it actually take to conquer the ruthless OUA conference?

The OUA sits in a massive global basketball ecosystem.

Make no mistake, the stakes here are incredibly high.

Zooming into North America, we hit Canada's U Sports at the very top.

The brutal Wilson Cup.

And this brilliantly illustrates the need to adapt.

Surviving a 2025 offensive shootout or a 2026 defensive grind, TMU literally bullied their way to that 2026 title.

Their coach called it an absolute all out war.

Contrast that with Ottawa's 2025 win.

Captain Dragon Stojic called the emotional high scoring victory a dream come true.

Just how tough is climbing this mountain?

Let's check out a 40 year case study.

The Guelph Griffins.

Their decades long history is basically a masterclass in generational perseverance.

Huge highs matched by totally devastating playoff droughts.

Now what's really interesting about this slide is program legend Tim Mao.

He anchored their 1990 championship.

It demands sheer individual greatness too.

Just look at Jeff Root's mind blowing 43 point single game record in 1986.

The margins are razor thin.

In 2003, the Griffins stunned top national teams but fell heartbreakingly short in the finals.

It's absolute trench warfare.

Nick Pankirichian literally grinded out an unbelievable 1231 career points.

Even during tough rebuilding years, survival takes incredibly balanced gritty scoring spread across the entire roster.

Let's move to that and see how this builds.

In 2019, a gritty new squad finally battled back.

Banki Alade led the whole country in Rebounds.

That just proves the immense physical toll of playing here.

The Griffins history proves one ultimate truth for sure.

The OUA offers absolutely zero easy wins now.

No nights off.

So what actually happens to those rare, completely exhausted teams who finally managed to conquer the Wilson Cup?

The ultimate reward?

Advancing to the national Youth Sports tournament to face Canada's absolute best.

The whole shebang.

So the ultimate question remains.

Do you really have the generational grit required to survive this brutal basketball grind?

Thank you, Mary, for that full court press.

Man, I didn't know that basketball was such a competitive sport in Canada.

I wonder if the courtside announcers say, hey, that was a good shot, eh?

I can't do their accent.

I'm a Texan.

We're way too far away.

Our next episode is about soccer.

I mean about soccer.

Because the World cup is going on.

We'll tell you about another Wilson cup and it's involved in soccer.

So make sure you hit the follow or the subscribe button to be notified for free when it comes out.

Now, in my intro of this episode, I made a statement that every point in the NBA finals was scored by Wilson.

Well, that's the truth.

Because every basketball used in every game by the NBA, WNBA and other related leagues are played with the ball made by Wilson Sporting Goods.

And it's got Wilson right on the side.

Therefore, every point was scored by Wilson going through the hoop.

But some of you probably already figured out what I was talking about.

But I bet I got you in episode 11 when I told you that Russell Wilson went to space.

But today's trick question was probably too easy to figure out.

I'll try harder next time.

So the next thing in our category in basketball solves a problem that most of our basketballs in the garage have right now.

I better let Larry tell us about it and you'll probably go online and order one of these for your kids for their next Christmas present.

Larry, put on your summertime Santa Claus suit and tell us about this new toy.

Hey, I'm Larry.

Welcome to this explainer where we're tearing down Wilson's wild airless basketball hype.

Lets jump straight into the craziest part.

This thing costs 2,500 bucks.

Seriously, why does a ball completely full of holes cost more than a used car?

The secret?

A crazy bending polymer lattice completely replaces the old school pressurized air bladder.

Forget stitching leather.

High precision lasers literally melt fine thermoplastic powder layer by layer.

To build it, the 3D struts physically flex and rebound, giving you a perfect bounce that's completely puncture proof.

The feel is wild guys.

That classic leather Boeing is now a completely futuristic whoosh.

You also swapped the traditional grip for a slicker polymer surface with visible 3D print lines.

Years of intense R and D finally led to this sleek game changing 2026 black edition.

This massive upgrade basically deletes wind drag giving you a perfectly stabilized game ready flight path.

But beyond the wild science, this thing sparked some insane sneakerhead level economics.

Let's look, just 200 total Gen1 units were ever printed.

Talk about an insanely exclusive drop.

Get this scarcity.

Only 25 units even exist in the ultra rare natural white colorway.

US retail was 2500 but over in Asian resale markets it rockets past four grand.

Smart global collectors actually use US freight forwarders to just to bypass those massive reseller markups.

This literally revolutionizes manufacturing.

It shrinks an entire global supply chain down to one digital file.

As Wilson's team notes, reimagining a century old sport takes massive risk and seriously boundary pushing engineering.

So as 3D printing gets cheaper, will this airless tech permanently replace the leather on your court?

After hearing what this amazing basketball costs, you probably won't be leaving it out in the garage.

And for that matter, this basketball probably ever touch the concrete on your driveway in front of your garage.

Now the Generation 2 or the Gen 2 balls, they are being released a few batches at a time.

Still with limited quantities, each release sells out in just a couple of minutes.

Because people are in the waiting list.

Wilson doesn't disclose how many are in each batch or when the next batch will be available.

And this keeps the price value and all the hype up for the ball.

And now it's time for Wilson's in the News.

We track Wilson's in the News daily on our dedicated media page, but here's a brief look at some Wilson's and recent headlines.

Emma Wilson and her horse Diesel win first place at a Pennsylvania horse show.

The United Nations Department of Human Rights moves from their building at Palais Wilson to a new building.

That's Palais Wilson.

As in Palace Wilson.

And it's beautiful.

And next is our Wilson's.

In Sporting News, as we Talked about previously, 19 year old Caleb Wilson gets picked up by the Chicago Bulls.

Yana Wilson teams up with Gina Kim to win the LPGA 2026 Dow Championship.

Leeds United agreed to a contract for winger Harry Wilson.

Links to these stories are in our show notes and there's a bunch more@cuzwilson.com that's C U Z wilson.com and then hover over the more button.

And while you're there, click on that microphone icon at the bottom of the page.

Send me a voicemail.

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See you cuz.

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