 As a high school student in Anderson, Indiana at Anderson High School, Anderson he captained the Indians basketball team and was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball.In the high school championship game in 1946, he scored 30 of his team's 67 points in its victory over Fort Wayne Central High School, a record.Wilson wished to attend Indiana University after he graduated in 1946, but was not recruited due to the Big Ten's unspoken policy of not recruiting African-American players.