The Cowl Remembers: Lenny Wilkens

by Sarah Wolff ’28 on November 20, 2025

Sports

For 90 years, The Cowl has followed Providence College’s achievements, heartbreaks, and defining moments. Few people have shaped our school’s athletic history as deeply as Lenny Wilkens ’60, and his recent passing has left the community grieving as well as reflecting on his profound greatness. As we celebrate our newspaper’s anniversary, it felt only right that we honor one of the greatest Friars to ever walk our campus. Wilkens was a man whose legacy extends past the sport, shaping future generations on and off the court.

Arriving on campus in the fall of 1956, Wilkens was not yet the Hall of Famer the world would soon know him to be. He was just a young man from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Yet, he had quick instincts and a work ethic that immediately set him apart. People who knew him when he was just a young man and those who knew him decades later use the same qualities to describe him—humility, poise, and unwavering competitiveness. Nothing about the way he acted or played demanded attention, but everything about him earned respect.

On the court, Wilkens was redefining what it meant to be a point guard. He wasn’t simply running an offense; he was conducting it. His athletic IQ was off the charts—he controlled tempo, dissected the defense effortlessly, and most importantly, prioritized his teammates. His brand of leadership was unmistakable, and his legacy is embedded in that. By the time he graduated, he was a two-time All-American and had led the team to their first NIT appearance in 1959 as well as the NITfinals in 1960. PC retired Wilken’s No. 14 jersey in 1996, the first Friar to have this honor, as he is a symbol of what the College could produce when talent is met with character.

His professional career more than fulfilled the promise that young Wilkens showed at PC. Drafted No. 6 overall in 1960, he began his NBA journey with the St. Louis Hawks, where he quickly became one of the league’s smartest point guards. During his time in St. Louis, he had multiple All-Star selections. In 1968, he moved to the Seattle SuperSonics, where he helped shape the team’s identity and the franchise’s eventual rise. From Seattle, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, a young team that needed his stable presence to help reach their potential. He finished his playing career with the Portland Trail Blazers, taking on the impressive role of not only being a player, but a coach, too. His transition to coaching is proof of how widely respected his basketball knowledge had become.

Wilkens carried being a Friar with him everywhere. Not just as a line on his resume, but as a part of who he was. He spoke about PC with genuine love and credited the college for shaping not only his skills, but also his values. His passing feels immense because his life was immense, and he embodied the idea that true greatness requires both talent and character. Wilken’s legacy lives on each time a new Friar steps onto the court—we will miss him dearly.

Ed Column

by Sarah McCall ’26 on November 20, 2025

Opinion

Hey Cowl readers! I get the wonderful honor of wishing everyone a happy 90 year anniversary to everyone’s favorite part of Providence College: The Cowl! I know how beloved The Cowl is on campus (according to YikYak), so I am sure the PC community will be just as excited as we are for this anniversary. We were able to go to the archives and read some of the old editions this past week. My favorite was an article that criticized every person who was on The Cowl that year by name. The best part was about the two Editors-in-Chief. “Both illiterate,” with one being “of dubious tastes” and the other a “shifty individual with a shifty smile” who is responsible for the “misspelled words and misnamed photographs.” I am truly honored that Olivia and I still maintain that same dynamic from the 1947 co-EICs, Joe Shanley ’49 and Paul Kelley ’48.

It is also the last edition before Thanksgiving! So I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving break! Personally, I don’t like most, if not all, Thanksgiving foods, but I am so excited to have a break and see my family. I am a little bit stressed though because that means senior year is one step closer to ending. I also have two big research assignments due the day before break, so I am not excited for that at all. Just like everything else this year, things are feeling super bittersweet.

Okay, now it is time for my favorite part!!! The random things that have been consuming my brain. I just went thrifting and got two new sweaters! Super excited about that. I also found a framed photograph of Richard Nixon at Savers, so I obviously got that as well. At this point, we have a fairly well-established Nixon Nook in our third-floor living room. I just visited my sister at Fordham University. I started a second crochet project. I am excited for Christmas shopping. And finally, I have been really liking the color orange lately, which objectively is an ugly color, so I am not sure what that is about.

The With Mutual Respect panel occurred last week. Two of my friends and Cowl members were on the panel. All of the panelists did a really good job. My only complaint was that I didn’t have a microphone as well. I thought a lot of the questions were very well thought out, and I really wanted to answer them. So in the spring, I would either enjoy being a panelist or I would want to be given the opportunity to interrupt whenever I see fit to give my two cents. Because obviously my every-other-week 500-word brain dump isn’t enough.

Go into Thanksgiving break grateful for everything. Be grateful that course registration is over, be grateful that it is almost time for snow, and most of all, be grateful for everyone’s favorite organization on campus. I will see you all in the Spring. TTYL!