Brian Wilson's legacy

mikeperry@alpineavalanche.com

Sometimes, when overwhelmed by the sheer number of people walking the globe, it's hard to imagine one person making a difference.

After all, there are almost 7 billion people roaming our Earth, 300 million of whom live in the United States. Can one person really make a difference?

After all, the national and international headlines can, if you're not careful, foster a sense of helplessness.

Maybe, though, we become too focused on the numbers, too focused on bully-boy dictators breeding war in every corner of the world, nations torn apart by the nuances of politics, starving people in the midst of excess food production, religious intolerance.

Maybe we need to focus on the overwhelming individual goodness out there.

Almost every week, interacting with the people of the Big Bend, I see individuals making a difference.

At the risk of shining too serious a light on the subject, I'm convinced that individuals change the world - for the better - all the time.

That feeling was never more apparent than when I was talking recently with Chris Hardin, president of the Alpine High Buck Boosters, about the Brian Wilson Memorial Basketball Tournament, more specifically about the individual, Brian Tate Wilson.

In my humble opinion, Brian's actions in his far-too-short life can counteract a hundredfold the angry actions of the men - mostly men - dominating our headlines.

Listening to Chris - and many others, such as Felipe Fierro and Danny Rojo - talk about Brian Wilson showed me the extraordinary impact one person continues to have on our community.

I've had the privilege of getting to know Chris, Felipe and Danny - and hundreds just like them - over the past few months. I guarantee all three of these guys are rock solid, the kind of people who make this a great community. They care, they give back every day of the week. And it's obvious that all three were - and still are - touched by Brian's humanity. I can think of no greater tribute to a man and his family.

Consider this comment from Chris: "Oh, man, he'd put a smile on your face. Me and Turtle (Turtle Powell, another member of that '91 class and now a professional rodeo cowboy) were talking the other day and we couldn't think of a time when he was mean to someone or when he wasn't putting a smile on someone's face."

"Teachers loved him," Chris added, "and the kids loved him."

Brian's story is bittersweet in the extreme, but his story also is a celebration of a life well-lived.

Brian, the son of Eleanor and Rex Wilson, died in a car wreck on the River Road down in the Big Bend area. His death came just days after graduation, in 1991, from Alpine High School, weeks before he was to head off to Texas Wesleyan College on a full basketball scholarship.

Everyone agrees Brian is the best basketball player ever to play at Alpine High. He was a four-year starter, all-state his senior year, played in the Texas all-star basketball game, led his team to a regional final in the state playoffs, was named one of the top 100 players in the nation by at least one scouting agency.

Plus, he was a good student, a member of the National Honor Society.

Chris was in the same graduating class with Brian.

"He was one of my best friends all through our school years. We grew up together.

"And what an athlete," he added. "He stuck to basketball but he could have been a star in any sport. Shoot, I remember our senior year, the track coach asked Brian to enter some events at the district meet we were hosting.

"Brian wasn't on the team, hadn't practiced anything, but he went out and won the long jump, high jump and triple jump. I think he almost qualified for state in the high jump - without preparation of any kind. He even placed in the 200-meter dash."

But basketball was Brian's love. He was a 6-4 power forward who could make incredible things happen on the basketball court.

The highlight of this year's basketball tournament was a ceremony retiring Brian's jersey, the first time that has happened in Alpine High history.

There's another very human indication of what Brian meant to his fellow students, Hardin added, citing the number of people who have named their kids after him.

"I named my daughter Ryan Tate," Hardin said. "And Danny Rojo, a longtime Alpine resident and a teammate of Brian's, named his son Daniel Brian Rojo.

"And then there's Tim Davis, another teammate on that '91 team. Tim coaches the Sabine team (which won the tournament's consolation championship). His 10-year-old is named Koby Tate Davis."

"Last spring break I talked to Chris Hardin (tournament organizer) and he told me they were trying to get the tournament going again," Davis told the Odessa American. "I said if they did it again, then we'd be here."

Davis played with Wilson from 1989 to 1991 for the Bucks and wanted to honor his former teammate by having his team travel 12 hours from the Longview area to play in Alpine.

Nazareth head coach Zach Boxell brought his team seven hours to play in a tournament named after his former high school teammate.

"It's been unbelievable," Hardin told the Odessa paper. "The whole town has gotten into it. We've already got requests for next year."

Last weekend's tournament was the second Brian Wilson Memorial. However, it was not held last season because of a lack of interest. That is where the vision and persistence of Hardin and the Ramada Inn of Alpine stepped in.

Dave Durrant, the owner of the hotel, called Hardin and asked what needed to happen to get the tournament going again. Durrant is an ex-Border Patrol agent and avid basketball fan who wanted to see the tournament played again, so he gave each team a free night's stay at his hotel and provided breakfast for the schools as well.

When Durrant offered his help, Hardin said he had no problem finding teams to come to Alpine.

"Once Sabine and Nazareth got in, it was like throwing blood in the water," Hardin said. "The bigger schools jumped right in."

Hardin also credited his 1991 classmates for donating money to help run the tournament to honor his best friend.

While Sabine didn't win the title, the tournament provided the team members with an opportunity to not only play quality teams but also to see a part of Texas that they'd never seen.

"No one on my team has ever been farther west than Dallas; they've never seen country like this," Davis said.

This story contains information from a story by Craig Craker in the Odessa American.

Brian Wilson's legacy

mikeperry@alpineavalanche.com

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