Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Marques and Jeameril Wilson Use Athletes in Action Academy to Develop as Leaders
12/14/2020 11:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Student Athlete, Features, Flight 45, Intellectual Development
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
In May, senior Marques Wilson and junior Jeameril Wilson took part in Athletes in Action's sixth Men's Basketball Captains Academy for college-level emerging leaders.
Seven months later, the two are putting what they learned to good use ahead of the 2020-21 season.
"It was a virtual workshop intended to build our leadership skills and get us thinking about leadership going into the season," said Marques. "It was also tied into our faith, and some of that came into play in terms of the messaging and lessons presented to us."
The academy is normally held in Xenia, Ohio, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held virtually for the first time. It spanned three days, from May 13 through May 15.
Marques, Jeameril and all the nearly 100 student-athletes attending were challenged to think about the impact of leadership and how strong leadership can make a real difference over the course of a long season.
"We talked about qualities of a good leader, how to be a good leader and things that have and haven't worked," said Jeameril.
One of the most important qualities of a good leader is consistency.
"Strong leaders all seem to have the quality of consistency," said Jeameril. "I thought of consistency as self-discipline, but they explained consistency as something that helps others trust you because they know what they can expect from you."
That concept has admittedly stuck with Jeameril to this day.
For Marques, the academy put into perspective how many teams are trying to do the same things as the Mountain Hawks (winning games and ultimately, a championship).
As Marques asked, "What am I going to do to lead better than everyone else? And what do I take away [from the academy] that's going to give our team the edge?"
Specifically, Marques' biggest takeaway was a serving mindset.
"Leaders eat last," he said. "It's really about meeting guys where they are, talking to guys how they naturally want to be communicated to based off their personality, leaving your ego behind as a leader and recognizing that the team, the school and the whole organization that is Lehigh University men's basketball is a lot bigger than yourself.
"You always want to keep that in mind when leading."
Marques and Jeameril Wilson, along with Nic Lynch, are the three upperclassmen on the 2020-21 Mountain Hawks who look to step the next step as leaders. Marques is the only senior while Jeameril and Lynch are the two juniors.
Both Wilsons realize they have it in them to be effective leaders, and have made a concerted effort to grow in that area (which is where the Athletes in Action Academy proved helpful).
"Since high school, I haven't been a very vocal leader," said Jeameril. "I've always been the person who would wait until afterwards or pull you aside and talk. But sometimes in basketball, being vocal is crucial. The [Lehigh] coaches have done a great job of challenging me and putting me in situations in practice where I have no choice but to be vocal. I believe I've grown a lot in that aspect."
Specifically, Jeameril has learned to embrace his strengths. He's not looking to be someone he's not. He wants to be the best version of himself, making the most of his skills and abilities and letting them shine – both on the court and as a leader.
"You have to keep sharpening your strengths and using those," he said. "Lehigh – especially the coaches – has taught me what I'm really good at and encouraged me to keep doing it."
That type of encouragement helped Jeameril break through towards the end of last season, averaging 14.7 points and 7.6 rebounds over the final nine games (in which the Mountain Hawks went 6-3). With confidence from his play comes more confidence to step outside his comfort zone as a leader.
"To this day, I can be up and down, but last year was a big jump for me," said Jeameril. "The coaches put me in a position where I couldn't afford to be inconsistent. Towards the end of the year, I showed some more consistency on the court and as a leader. Guys knew what they could expect from me."
The same is certainly true for Marques, who averaged 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in Patriot League play.
"I'm very confident going into this year," said Marques. "I know the work I've put in, I know what I'm capable of achieving, and I know what I'm willing to do to succeed this year and to win.
"That is to push myself as far as I can to exhaustion."
Marques knows to be an effective leader, he needs to display winning behaviors.
"It's important to show the freshmen what I'm willing to do, and let them know I'm not just saying it," he said.
And as Marques said, he's willing to do whatever it takes.
"I feel like in a way, my career so far has been leading to me to this point of taking on a leadership position," he said. "I feel prepared because of the seniors and upperclassmen we've had since I've been here, all great examples of leaders. I feel like I've taken something from each of their leadership styles.
"I'm ready to try it out myself."
When asked about his strengths, one word came to Marques' mind first.
Competitive.
"In the past, I think my competitiveness manifested as me getting on guys and just barking orders whenever things weren't going the right way, which is not the right way to approach it," said Marques. "I plan on using my competitiveness this year to compete with myself to be the best leader I can be."
Marques has experienced so much in his career, which is a strength in his ability to relate to others.
"There's nothing these underclassmen can experience that I haven't already gone through myself," he said. "If it's struggling academically, I've been through that. If it's struggling athletically, I've been through that. I feel like I'm able to talk to anybody about what they're going through over the course of the season."
"The season" has been, and will continue to be, extremely atypical due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so leadership will be even more important. Leadership does not stop with the upperclassmen.
"A lot of the young guys are taking initiative, stepping up and being leaders," said Jeameril. "I'm really proud of the sophomores and freshmen."
Marques has seen some themes come to the surface with the 2020-21 Mountain Hawks, specifically hard work and adaptability.
"I've seen a lot of freshman classes come through here, and they've all had that learning curve," he said. "Getting used to the workouts Division I athletes have to put themselves through, as well as focusing on your studies and all the things that go into it, is challenging. With this being a very interesting and crazy year with the pandemic and the political, social issues going on, these freshmen have really come into their own, stepped up and adapted on the fly. It's quite remarkable.
"We all have an appreciation for the opportunity to get a season."
The opportunity to compete is all the motivation Marques, Jeameril and the Mountain Hawks need… along with the excitement of this year's potential.
"We know what we're capable of," said Jeameril. "We might be young, but last year gave the sophomores a lot of experience.
"Couple that with freshmen who are very hungry, open-minded and willing to learn, it's just a recipe for success."
In May, senior Marques Wilson and junior Jeameril Wilson took part in Athletes in Action's sixth Men's Basketball Captains Academy for college-level emerging leaders.
Seven months later, the two are putting what they learned to good use ahead of the 2020-21 season.
"It was a virtual workshop intended to build our leadership skills and get us thinking about leadership going into the season," said Marques. "It was also tied into our faith, and some of that came into play in terms of the messaging and lessons presented to us."
The academy is normally held in Xenia, Ohio, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held virtually for the first time. It spanned three days, from May 13 through May 15.
Marques, Jeameril and all the nearly 100 student-athletes attending were challenged to think about the impact of leadership and how strong leadership can make a real difference over the course of a long season.
"We talked about qualities of a good leader, how to be a good leader and things that have and haven't worked," said Jeameril.
One of the most important qualities of a good leader is consistency.
"Strong leaders all seem to have the quality of consistency," said Jeameril. "I thought of consistency as self-discipline, but they explained consistency as something that helps others trust you because they know what they can expect from you."
That concept has admittedly stuck with Jeameril to this day.
For Marques, the academy put into perspective how many teams are trying to do the same things as the Mountain Hawks (winning games and ultimately, a championship).
As Marques asked, "What am I going to do to lead better than everyone else? And what do I take away [from the academy] that's going to give our team the edge?"
Specifically, Marques' biggest takeaway was a serving mindset.
"Leaders eat last," he said. "It's really about meeting guys where they are, talking to guys how they naturally want to be communicated to based off their personality, leaving your ego behind as a leader and recognizing that the team, the school and the whole organization that is Lehigh University men's basketball is a lot bigger than yourself.
"You always want to keep that in mind when leading."
Marques and Jeameril Wilson, along with Nic Lynch, are the three upperclassmen on the 2020-21 Mountain Hawks who look to step the next step as leaders. Marques is the only senior while Jeameril and Lynch are the two juniors.
Both Wilsons realize they have it in them to be effective leaders, and have made a concerted effort to grow in that area (which is where the Athletes in Action Academy proved helpful).
"Since high school, I haven't been a very vocal leader," said Jeameril. "I've always been the person who would wait until afterwards or pull you aside and talk. But sometimes in basketball, being vocal is crucial. The [Lehigh] coaches have done a great job of challenging me and putting me in situations in practice where I have no choice but to be vocal. I believe I've grown a lot in that aspect."
Specifically, Jeameril has learned to embrace his strengths. He's not looking to be someone he's not. He wants to be the best version of himself, making the most of his skills and abilities and letting them shine – both on the court and as a leader.
"You have to keep sharpening your strengths and using those," he said. "Lehigh – especially the coaches – has taught me what I'm really good at and encouraged me to keep doing it."
That type of encouragement helped Jeameril break through towards the end of last season, averaging 14.7 points and 7.6 rebounds over the final nine games (in which the Mountain Hawks went 6-3). With confidence from his play comes more confidence to step outside his comfort zone as a leader.
"To this day, I can be up and down, but last year was a big jump for me," said Jeameril. "The coaches put me in a position where I couldn't afford to be inconsistent. Towards the end of the year, I showed some more consistency on the court and as a leader. Guys knew what they could expect from me."
The same is certainly true for Marques, who averaged 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in Patriot League play.
"I'm very confident going into this year," said Marques. "I know the work I've put in, I know what I'm capable of achieving, and I know what I'm willing to do to succeed this year and to win.
"That is to push myself as far as I can to exhaustion."
Marques knows to be an effective leader, he needs to display winning behaviors.
"It's important to show the freshmen what I'm willing to do, and let them know I'm not just saying it," he said.
And as Marques said, he's willing to do whatever it takes.
"I feel like in a way, my career so far has been leading to me to this point of taking on a leadership position," he said. "I feel prepared because of the seniors and upperclassmen we've had since I've been here, all great examples of leaders. I feel like I've taken something from each of their leadership styles.
"I'm ready to try it out myself."
When asked about his strengths, one word came to Marques' mind first.
Competitive.
"In the past, I think my competitiveness manifested as me getting on guys and just barking orders whenever things weren't going the right way, which is not the right way to approach it," said Marques. "I plan on using my competitiveness this year to compete with myself to be the best leader I can be."
Marques has experienced so much in his career, which is a strength in his ability to relate to others.
"There's nothing these underclassmen can experience that I haven't already gone through myself," he said. "If it's struggling academically, I've been through that. If it's struggling athletically, I've been through that. I feel like I'm able to talk to anybody about what they're going through over the course of the season."
"The season" has been, and will continue to be, extremely atypical due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so leadership will be even more important. Leadership does not stop with the upperclassmen.
"A lot of the young guys are taking initiative, stepping up and being leaders," said Jeameril. "I'm really proud of the sophomores and freshmen."
Marques has seen some themes come to the surface with the 2020-21 Mountain Hawks, specifically hard work and adaptability.
"I've seen a lot of freshman classes come through here, and they've all had that learning curve," he said. "Getting used to the workouts Division I athletes have to put themselves through, as well as focusing on your studies and all the things that go into it, is challenging. With this being a very interesting and crazy year with the pandemic and the political, social issues going on, these freshmen have really come into their own, stepped up and adapted on the fly. It's quite remarkable.
"We all have an appreciation for the opportunity to get a season."
The opportunity to compete is all the motivation Marques, Jeameril and the Mountain Hawks need… along with the excitement of this year's potential.
"We know what we're capable of," said Jeameril. "We might be young, but last year gave the sophomores a lot of experience.
"Couple that with freshmen who are very hungry, open-minded and willing to learn, it's just a recipe for success."
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