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Seeing Christian Wilkins beam onto the stage gave me a flashback to the first time I met him.

We are at the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, and Wilkins had just wrapped up his official visit in November 2014.

Intel on Wilkins’ recruitment was as challenging as anyone I’ve come across before or since. He didn’t talk. No family members could be reached. His private school coaches stayed underground, and the schools courting him didn’t have a strong feel either.

Wilkins barely said a word in our interview, and such apparent introversion – for lack of a better label – seemed to paint a unique picture.

Oh, Wilkins was unique alright. And in quite the opposite direction.