Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU redshirt sophomore guard David Wilkerson drives back Northern Kentucky’s Trey Robinson in the Penguins’ win over the Norse on Wednesday at the Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — Prior to the start of this season, Youngstown State’s David Wilkerson had been out of basketball for almost two years.

A pair of back-to-back, long-term injuries kept the redshirt sophomore point guard off the court and away from the game he loves.

“It was heartbreaking,” Wilkerson said. “I’ve always had a basketball in my hands ever since I was younger. I started playing basketball when I was 2-years old. So being on the sideline for two years, it was sad and depressing.”

But now, finally healthy, he’s returned this year for the Penguins, and despite a slow start to the season, he’s starting to find his rhythm again on the court. After averaging 2.0 points in 6.6 minutes in 10 appearances this season, he’s now had back-to-back games scoring in double figures.

Against Purdue Fort Wayne last week, he scored 10 points in 10 minutes, and then in Wednesday’s win over Northern Kentucky, Wilkerson provided a much-needed spark for YSU off the bench, scoring 12 points in 16 minutes. In those two games, he’s a combined 9-for-16 overall from the floor and 4-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“When you have two major injuries like he had, it takes time,” head coach Ethan Faulkner said. “We’ve had conversations with David about that. Obviously as a player, you want it to just click right away, and it just doesn’t happen like that when you’re away from the game for as long as he was. I think David’s getting his rhythm back and getting more of a game feel back. As this thing moves forward, and we go throughout the season, I think he’s going to continue to play a bigger and bigger role for us.”

Coming out of Liberty Heights High School in Lansing, Michigan, in 2022, Wilkerson opted to go the junior college route and ended up at Spartanburg Methodist in South Carolina.

Just two weeks after arriving on campus, Wilkerson tore a ligament in his foot during practice, which sidelined him for 10 months. When he came back, he played in 11 games for the Pioneers, where he averaged 10.8 points per game.

After the season, he transferred to YSU as part of the Penguins’ 2023-24 transfer class. Former head coach Jerrod Calhoun said last year that he thought Wilkerson had a chance to potentially be a starting guard for them.

But, right before the start of the season, in YSU’s second preseason scrimmage, Wilkerson suffered another devastating injury — this time he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus.

After sustaining the injuries on Oct. 29, 2023, he had to wait six weeks for his MCL to heal before he could have surgery to repair his ACL and meniscus on Dec. 12.

Another long journey of rehab and recovery lay ahead for Wilkerson, but still he tried to remain positive through the trials and tribulations.

“On the flip side, through all that time, I really got to find myself without a basketball,” Wilkerson said. “I think finding myself without a basketball is helping me play a little bit more free right now. I’m playing good, and it’s helping me just play more with a clear mind.”

Three to four months after surgery, he began doing physical activities like jogging.

From there, he graduated to using the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill for two or three weeks. By summer, he had begun sprinting, cutting on the court and slowly getting back to basketball activities.

“This whole summer was basically me preparing to get back to basketball. We call it the slow grind,” Wilkerson said of his recovery. “As a basketball player, you’re used to going hard playing basketball. So I had to take a step back — I really couldn’t miss a step in my rehab. I was literally living one day at a time because every day was a struggle in itself.

“For me, it was about keeping the motivation to show up every day, even when I didn’t want to go to rehab — showing up, listening to what our athletic trainer, Emily (Mulkey Swisher) said and just trying to build myself back up physically, but also trying to keep me mentally going and in the right state of mind. I had to continue to push myself and tell myself that ‘I’m going to be back out there one day.'”

Finally in August, Wilkerson was back practicing with the team.

He started off doing 5-on-0 drills for a couple months, according to Faulkner. But it wasn’t long before he was finally back playing 5-on-5 during preseason practices in October.

After two years away from the game, Wilkerson returned to the court for the first time in YSU’s season opener at Chicago State, where he scored two points in four minutes of the Penguins’ 80-60 victory.

“It was like a breath of fresh air,” Wilkerson said of checking in for the first time. “Sitting out two years, not playing the sport I love and doing what I’m passionate about, it was really mentally draining at times. I was nervous at first to get back out there, but when I got back out there, it was just second nature because I know I’ve been doing it for so long. When I got out there, it just flowed for me.

“There’s so many ups and downs. When I got out there, it was like a big weight got lifted off my chest. Now, I’m back doing what I love again and just being out here with my guys.”