We were lucky to catch up with DeMarco Wilkinson recently and have shared our conversation below.
DeMarco, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think It takes patience and consistency to reach a level of success. While many view success by the revenue, I view it a bit differently. I feel Consistency creates staying power and patience creates the ability to stay through tough times and adversity. The state of Covid taught us a lot of things and also gave us a blueprint of success without being comfortable. There was a time that the gyms and workout facilities were shut down. During that time, we’ve had to be creative with our meetings, works and personal contact. Meetings and workouts were often held online. Personal contact was kept to a minimum. To keep everyone safe, this was the norm. It’s often continued today.
DeMarco, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
In the Fall of 2013, I joined the IBA as an assistant coach of the Battle Creek Flight Professional Basketball Team. As the assistant coach, I was in charge of scouting, coaching and on the court player development. In 2013, my coaching helped the Battle Creek Flight to the IBA playoffs. I’ve also utilized my skills in Finance and Marketing to help players secure jobs / contracts over-seas, as well as opportunities in NBA Camps.
In 2014 I became the Co-Owner and Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Fusion Professional IBA Team. As a new Head Coach, I continued player development, training and scouting. His dynamic leadership has led the Fusion to its very first professional IBA Championship. I have been able to secure a strong influential and important relationship with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Indiana Pacers. At the same time, I’ve also been able to produce 11 All-Stars, IBA League MVP, Rookie of the Year and League’s 6th Man of the Year. My goal to have the Fusion to establish and continue to have successes in the community and on the court. In 2015 and 2016, the Fusion reached the IBA’s Play off and Division Championships. I’ve helped produced a great group of all-stars and numerous players receiving contracts to play over-seas.
As a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Im a 15 year NCAA and high school basketball official, who played at Catholic Central & Creston High school before receiving athletic scholarships from the University of Findlay and the University of Michigan. While participating in the NCAA, he was a 3 year All-American & Academic All-American athlete. I qualified for the 1992 Olympic team trials for Track N Field in the 100 meter hurdles. In 1994 he began his professional basketball career in Italy where he played for 4 years. I then transitioned to coaching and scouting where I’ve continued to have success.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Covid-19 created a time when I’ve had to pivot with training , business and workouts. This was a time when there was no personal contact, the gyms were shut down. And we had to depend on the government and the sanctions of each state. Being a professional basketball organization, we had to be aware of each state’s mandates. Our priority was to protect everyone and their families. Covid testing twice per week with strict guidelines for positive tests were put in place.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My co-owners Reggie Jordan and Danielle Soules are strong and prominent business owners in Michigan. Reggie Jordan is a former NBA player and Danielle , is an active and thriving owner. I’ve known Reggie from the Grand Rapids area and met Danielle during our first owners meeting. While meeting with them, the one thing you could tell that we all had in common was the competitive edge and eye for perfection. You could tell then that the FUSION brand would stand for alor more than basketball.
