At 6-foot-7, it’s hard to believe that Highland’s Clark Wilkinson once played point guard for a youth team coached by his dad, former NBA player Dale Wilkinson.

    But the Rams’ big man, well, one of two big men along with good friend and fellow senior Colton Shreve, can still handle the ball a little bit down in his post position.

    “In youth ball Colton towered over Clark, and until Austin Andreasen moved to town, he played point,” Dale said. “He does have some of those abilities, though. He can move the ball on the break and he’s comfortable facing the basket. He has a very quick first step and is tough to cover.

    “It’s a big advantage, especially where he has kind of a different skill set. I think it creates a whole lot of matchup problems for other teams.”

    But Wilkinson, with his incredible amount of raw talent and athleticism, is now finding his way through the mental part of basketball as well. His competitiveness, that at times in the past had overpowered what he was getting done on the court, is now a crucial part of propelling the team towards its goal of a state championship.

    “I’ve just tried to stay positive,” Wilkinson said. “Last year I got down on myself a lot, and I started missing shots and having defensive lapses. This year I’ve stressed in my game to stay positive and always move on to the next play. Just play present.

    “Last year, when I got down, some of the other teammates would see me getting down and would get down, too. So it was kind of like a domino effect. This year, just staying positive, it brings everybody else up a bit as well.”

    Highland head coach Chris Frost, now in his 24th year leading the Rams, welcomes the newfound resolve.

    “I think Clark matured a lot from last year to this,” he said. “I think he has grown up. He has a direction and I think he’s being so much more coachable. He understands that we kind of know what we’re talking about. Some of the coaches he had during the summer talked to him about being coachable, and that’s really helped him.”

    “Maturity is always a big deal,” Dale said. “There were some rough patches last year when Clark had enough confidence in his ability and he thought he should have been doing more. It’s a great sign of maturity that he has worked through that. The maturity level has come a long ways. He has a great mindset to play and he’s enjoying his team and this season a lot more.”

    Wilkinson’s progression is a big reason why Highland has been so successful this year. The Rams are 18-4, 9-1 in district play and have already clinched a spot in next week’s state tournament. They have lost just once to a team from Idaho, a 61-54 decision at Madison Feb. 6. Their other three losses came from a pair of Utah teams.

    “It’s important because he’s kind of our leader,” Frost said. “If he’ll play hard, direct and be responsible for his actions, it makes us that much better because he’s a good player to follow.”

    The Rams secured their berth to state last Saturday in a thrilling 72-70 overtime victory against Hillcrest. Wilkinson scored a team-high 19 points in the win.

    Afterwards, the team and its fans celebrated, but also took solace in what the victory meant.

    “Winning that game and securing a spot, it’s kind of a sense of relief,” Wilkinson said. “We don’t want to stay on that for too long. We want to keep going, win the district championship and get some momentum going into the actual state tournament.”

    Highland is one win away from that 5A Fifth-Sixth District championship as well, one of the many goals the team set before the season began in November. The Rams will face either Hillcrest or Madison Thursday evening at home for the title.

    “Right now (our focus) is the district championship. We don’t want to overlook that,” Wilkinson said. “We want to go in, make a name for ourselves at state and hopefully get a state title.”

    Wilkinson is also playing for a future in basketball. He received a scholarship offer from his dad’s alma mater, Idaho State, as a sophomore. But things changed when Bill Evans took over the Bengals. Wilkinson says the loss of the offer isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it has helped open up his options.

    “I have a couple of schools looking at me, and they want me to go there,” he said. “But, of course, I’m going to go on an LDS mission right out of high school.

    “I’ll just go from there. I will end up playing somewhere.”

    Central Wyoming Community College is one of the schools that hopes to have Wilkinson wearing their colors.

    “One of the coaches from the Idaho Select team that I was on, he coaches there,” Wilkinson said. “So he knew a lot about me and wants me to be there.”

    Regardless of where he plays, Frost says the senior’s future is bright.

    “I don’t think he’s tapped out yet,” he said. “I don’t think he’s gotten even close to what he can do. We see it each game. He’s playing above the rim. We just need to keep tapping into him and keep forcing him to play better.”

    Wilkinson tries to keep his mind on the present by focusing on his team and the next step in achieving their goals. But he’s not the only one.

    Hunting for a state championship are six seniors on Highland’s varsity roster. None are bigger (literally) than Wilkinson and 6-foot-6 Shreve. The two have been teammates since they were young.

    “We’ve both been starting varsity for three years,” Wilkinson said. “It’s just been an amazing experience having a good friend of mine, who’s been playing basketball with me ever since I was in fourth grade, play with me our senior year in high school.”

    Highland claimed the consolation championship in 2012’s state tournament after missing out in 2011, but the team is hungry for more.

    “It’s kind of like our last hurrah,” Wilkinson said. “We’re going to go and try to give it our all and make a name for ourselves.”

    “It’s kind of a relief. We got to go last year for the first time in years,” Frost said. “We had a great run since I’ve been the head coach and really in the whole history of Highland basketball we’ve been in the state tournament a lot. We want to continue that.”

    Tanner Tingey, Andreasen, Cayston Pickens, Kevin Birch and Shreve are Highland’s other seniors.

    “We have good team chemistry,” Wilkinson said. “We are all friends both on and off the court.”

    Wilkinson and the Rams play for their 5A Fifth-Sixth District championship Thursday at 7 p.m.