Roman Penn and D.J. Wilkins are two of the most accomplished Drake men’s basketball players. Penn is Drake’s all-time assist leader and Wilkins leads in 3-pointers made. In the wake of another historic season, leading Drake to their first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title since 2008, the duo spoke about how they plan to feast on and off the court.
The Drake men’s basketball team is now in collaboration with a restaurant in the heart of Iowa. The sync that is shown in their many victories with Drake can be seen in the “Penn to Wilkins burger” at Lucky Horse in Des Moines, right next to Drake University. Lucky Horse is located on the corner of 24th Street and University Avenue.
The burger is topped with caramelized onions, BBQ sauce and provolone cheese on Texas Toast. It also comes with tomato, lettuce, red onion and a pickle served on the side and will be available until May 31. All the ingredients are favorites from the duo who have been playing together since their Indiana middle school days.
Penn and Wilkins both spoke about their plans, the collaboration with Lucky Horse and their impact on the Des Moines community
Sitting down with Penn, he details how he wants to improve and create more opportunities for himself through business deals. Being one of the first Drake athletes to have a collaborative deal with a restaurant near campus just accounts for his leadership. Something that is expected out of the 2023 MVC leader in assists.
“Opportunities like the Lucky Horse [one] have helped me get my name out there in the Des Moines Community and find other ways to make opportunities for other athletes,” Penn said.
Penn also makes it known where he would want to improve his branding on social media.
“I want to use Instagram to my benefit, Twitter to my benefit,” Penn said. “I want to promote what I wanna do and promote stuff I want to be involved in and get more active with my social media accounts.”
With plans to graduate in May with a master’s in communications and already having a degree in sociology from Drake, Penn talked about how to be a winner on and off the court.
“Just work hard and have confidence in everything you do,” Penn said. “I had a lot of great opportunities that came my way and I took advantage of them.”
Being present in the community is something both stars strive to do – including creating bonds with the youth in Des Moines.
“Being there so the kids can actually see me and not just see me on TV, actually being able to interact with them and building that relationship,” Wilkins said in reference to his work as a social media manager for Black Excellence, a position that allows him to reach out to youth in the community through school outings and events.
Wilkins attributes his passion for mentoring in the local community to being in the same situation.
“When I grew up, we didn’t have guys who played Division I basketball having a chance to just be around them and talk to them, just having a first name basis with those guys being accessible and present to a lot of people,” Wilkins said.
Transferring from Florida Southwestern State College in 2018, the road to Division I basketball was different for Wilkins. He dealt with a troubling heart scare that had him sidelined for a whole season.
“A lot of things just aren’t certain when you are in JUCO or…in prep school or even when you go to Division I. Playing time is not certain or anything,” Wilkins said. “It’s just like at that time it’s just all about being in survival mode as an individual.”
Wilkins uses this approach in his everyday life and in growing his brand, being able to focus on what is ahead.
“Mentally, it was me turning the next page as you have to do in marketing,” Wilkins said. “In marketing, you’re not looking at what’s going on now. You figure out what’s the next thing that’s going to go.”
Despite the hurdles, Wilkins has managed to get where he is today. One of the benefits of that being that he’s now helping select menu items for a local restaurant.
Lucky Horse has many items on their menu, from nachos to pork fried egg rolls, but Penn and Wilkins already had their game plan.
“They sat down, and we just kept bringing food out and they tried quite a bit of what we had, and they decided what they liked,” said Jackie Mu, the general manager at Lucky Horse.
Jeff Bruning, co-owner of the establishment, enjoyed meeting the duo for the first time.
“It was just so great. They’re really neat guys,” Bruning said. “I mean, they’re completely down to earth, completely not full of themselves, really good at playing basketball, but also studying to get their graduate degrees. They’re just really neat people.”
In addition to the collaboration with Penn and Wilkins, Lucky Horse plans on expanding their partnerships with Drake. This being their first collaboration with a Drake athlete, it is a unique experience on both sides.
“I think it is something that we want to build up to,” Mu said. “We want to be as supportive of the university as we can.”
