Langston Wilson picks Alabama for his college hoops home
A 2018 graduate of Bonner-Prendergast, the 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward never played in high school but lit up the court at Georgia Highlands College.
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Langston Wilson, perhaps the most talented Bonner-Prendergast graduate to never play high school basketball, has moved closer to realizing the childhood dream that Marfan syndrome nearly stole forever.
On Sunday afternoon, Wilson, an ultra-athletic, 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward, committed to playing big-time college basketball at the University of Alabama via a produced video that he released on social media.
Earlier this week, Wilson used social media to narrow his top-10 suitors to Alabama, Memphis, Oregon, Iona, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Mississippi, Penn State, Maryland, and Cal State Bakersfield.
The Crimson Tide was just one of 44 programs that had offered the 2018 Bonner-Prendergast grad a scholarship.
In 2018, Wilson -- due to a suspected case of Marfan syndrome, an inherited disorder that affects connective tissue -- watched as team manager while the Friars fell to Roman Catholic in the Catholic League championship game at the Palestra. That Friars team was led by Isaiah Wong (University of Miami), Tariq Ingraham (Wake Forest), and Ajiri Johnson (Rider).
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Wilson was later cleared to play basketball in 2019 by his childhood cardiologist. He played junior college basketball at Georgia Highlands College, where he averaged 10 points and seven rebounds in his first season. His recruiting stock later soared during the JuCo summer showcase session.
Wilson’s father, Ron, 48, was a 6-foot-11 center on Villanova’s 1995 Big East championship team. He later joined the Harlem Globetrotters and also played professionally overseas. In 2010, doctors suspected that Ron had a connective tissue disorder most closely associated with Marfan syndrome.
At around 12 years old, tests also revealed that Langston Wilson likely had the same connective tissue condition as his father. As a precaution, his doctors and parents held him out of competitive basketball through high school.
Alabama also got a commitment earlier this month from 6-foot-3 point guard Jerdarrian “J.D.” Davison, the state’s reigning Mr. Basketball.
Second-year head coach Nate Oats recently told reporters that Alabama, which led the Southeastern Conference in average points per game last season, has a chance to compete for the SEC title this season.
In his first season, Oats' squad upset No. 4 Auburn in January but finished the season with a first-round loss in the National Invitational Tournament.
Oats also recently revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 in July. His admission came days after Nick Saban, coach of the No. 2 Crimson Tide football team, tested positive ahead of this weekend’s contest against No. 3 Georgia.