Be grEAT: The story of a Maverick athlete 

What does it mean to be great? 

“Being great is something I wrote down in 7th grade. I was motivated. I wanted to make my name present day. I wanted to be great. Everyone can be if everyone plays their role. It means being a teammate for everyone in your life. As a brother, sister, mom, dad and friend, play your role. So everyone can. That’s what it means to be great.” 

This was Malik Willingham’s final message at the end of “Be grEAT,” a mini documentary about his final year as Maverick student and athlete. 

Having premiered in Ostrander Auditorium Friday, the documentary follows Willingham as he entered his final season of basketball, the 2024 NCAA D-II National Championship run, and the challenges he faced finding success as a student athlete and becoming a role model for the younger generation. 

Unfortunately, Willingham couldn’t attend the premiere due to flying to Tbilisi, Georgia a week prior to play for the BC Kavkasia but in a recorded video message, he thanked everyone for the overwhelming support he has received over the past year.

“I want to thank you guys for coming out tonight, being there for me and my family, just showing love. Just me being a kid to where I’m at now, I can talk about it but I can go on forever about it,” Willingham said. “But long story short, I just want to just appreciate everything that God has allowed me to do and to be with. I met so many great people throughout this journey.” 

Ben Stelter, a recent graduate from Bethany Lutheran College and director of the film, shared in his speech at the premiere how grateful he is to have an audience watch the work he created over the past year and share his and Malik’s talents. 

“This is my first premiere and I’m really embracing it. I never thought that this project would take me this far. We started this idea last May,” Stelter said. “We wanted to make an impact with our talents. Something bigger than basketball, but also much smaller than a future-length film, maybe something that was 10-15 minutes. But the team kept winning, and here we are today.”

Within the documentary, it features Willingham and his family discussing his tough upbringing in his hometown of Waseca, and the support system he and his family developed together over the years. Despite all the hardships, Willingham continued to persevere. 

“Just believe in yourself. Don’t listen to what anyone has to say about your dreams or your goals. Be great. Just focus on yourself, your family, the people around you, and let God handle the rest,” Willingham said

As time passed, his basketball journey took off when he began playing at Waseca High School when he was a sophomore. By the time he was a senior, he became the team’s all-time leading scorer and helped his squad advance in the state tournament.

His journey as a Maverick began in 2019. He played basketball for five consecutive years, with his final year coming to a close when the Mavericks faced off against the Nova Southeastern Sharks in the 2024 NCAA DII Championship.

With both teams tied with only a minute remaining in the second half, Willingham passed the ball off to his brother, Kyreese, who nailed a jumper with only 0.6 seconds remaining, sealing the 88-85 victory and national title for the Mavericks.

Even if his journey has ended at MSU, Willingham continues to take his next steps in his basketball journey and encourages everyone to keep pushing forward, hoping that everyone will be able to take something away from the documentary. 

“I hope you can take something from this. Put it towards your life, whether that’s being a good dad, mom, brother, sister, a friend, teammate, work, sports. I want you guys to really just try to pick something up from this, where you can put it towards your life. This whole title is called ‘Be grEAT’ and that doesn’t have to be just towards. I want this to be whatever you do in life. I want you to be great at whatever you do.” Willingham said. 

For more information about the documentary, visit sedulomedia.com/be-great 

Photo Caption: Having premiered in Ostrander Auditorium Friday, the documentary follows Willingham as he entered his final season of basketball at MSU. (Troy Yang/The Reporter)

Write to Anahi Zuniga at anahi.zuniga@mnsu.edu