Karlee Wilson grew up in the Lewis-Clark Valley, where she played varsity basketball at Lewiston High School for four years. Wilson was a first-team all-state and first-team all-league selection as a junior after averaging 9.5 points with a 4.0 assist-to-turnover, leading Lewiston to the state championship.
Wilson said when choosing a university, she knew the biggest variable was remaining close to home. She wanted to be able to go visit her family and have them come to watch her play.
“I went on an unofficial visit to the University of Idaho, and I committed the summer before my junior year,” Wilson said. “The level of competition was perfect for me and I loved the community element the University of Idaho offered.”
Wilson said with women’s basketball head coach Jon Newlee leading them, the Vandals were able to win the Western Athletic Conference Championships her freshman year and the Big Sky Conference Championships her senior year.
Due to a torn ligament in her knee during her freshman year at UI, Wilson’s basketball career was put on a brief pause. She said one of her greatest personal accomplishments was coming back from her injury and earning Big Sky’s Co-Defensive Player of the year her senior season.
“Not very many people can even say they had the opportunity to play in the (National Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament,” Wilson said. “We were competitive all four years even after moving from WAC to the Big Sky, and I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else.”
Wilson’s love for basketball led her back to her roots at Lewiston High School, where she now serves as the coach for the Bengals’ women’s basketball team.
“I personally think being a point guard for the University of Idaho helped me create a strong relationship with Newlee and the other coaches,” Wilson said. “I became a leader on the floor and I constantly had talks with Newlee about how to be a leader and how to fulfill my duties as captain.”
Wilson explained the relationships she built throughout her time playing basketball, in both high school and college, is why she wanted to start coaching. She said she tries to instill the same emphasis on relationships and trust she learned at UI in her players at Lewiston.
Wilson said her favorite part about coaching is getting to know the girls and building bonds with them. She said she is still young enough to relate to them and she is able to understand what they are going through.
“I can coach them best by knowing what is going on in their lives,” Wilson said. “To these girls, I am someone other than a parent or teacher for them to talk to and I love being this person in these young athletes’ lives.”
Wilson explained one of the greatest lessons her college coaches taught her was that when someone is faced with adversity and difficulty is when their true character shows. She said she continues to instill this lesson in her high school players today.
Morgan McDonough can be reached at [email protected]