At Capital Christian School in Sacramento, Wilson endured a fifth lumbar vertebra stress fracture, which sidelined him during the summer of 2012 and part of his junior season, which caused him to lose the attention of some recruiters.

By June 2013, he had recovered enough to tally 22 points and 8 rebounds against Ivan Rabb at a California Golden Bears camp event at Haas Pavilion.

The defending 2013 national runner-up Wolverines hosted him (and Devin Booker) during the first weekend of October 2013 and he accepted Michigan over offers from USC, Gonzaga, Northwestern, and Harvard.

[1] Wilson signed his National Letter of Intent with Michigan on November 13, 2013, with the expectation that Jordan Morgan would graduate from the 2013–14 Wolverines team and both Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary would enter the 2014 NBA draft.

[4] Sources: Prior to the 2014–15 season, Wilson had surgery on his little finger,[5] and he was sidelined during some of the offseason and the August 15 — 24 four-game exhibition tour of Italy.

[6] Upon his arrival, he was diagnosed with valgus deformity ("knock-kneed"), and his neuromuscular therapy would eventually increase his vertical jump by 8 inches (20 cm) during his college career.

[7] During the fifth game of the season for the 2014–15 team against Villanova in the 2014 Legends Classic, Wilson was injured when he was blocked and knocked down on a slam dunk attempt against Dylan Ennis.

[16][17] In the January 1 Big Ten conference opener against Iowa, Wilson posted a career-high 28 points and 14 rebounds in an 83–86 overtime loss.

[20][21] On March 10, Michigan defeated (#12/#13) Purdue 74–70 in overtime during the quarterfinals of the 2017 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

[25] Wilson averaged 16 points, 3 blocks and 4.3 rebounds in three 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament games, helping Michigan reach the round of sixteen, where the team was eliminated by Ennis' 2016–17 Oregon Ducks.

[26][27] In the NCAA tournament wins against Oklahoma State[28] and Louisville,[29] Wilson went a combined 6–6 from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds of play.

On April 10, both Wilson and teammate Moritz Wagner declared for the draft, but did not hire agents, which gave them until May 24 to withdraw their names and retain their athletic eligibility to return to Michigan.

[33] During the week prior to the NBA Combine, he injured his quadriceps during a workout with the San Antonio Spurs, relegating him to taking part in physical measurements and interviews.

[57] On April 10, the final night of the season, Wilson posted a career-high 18 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[63] On August 1, the Rockets declined to extend a $6.9 million qualifying offer to Wilson, making him an unrestricted free agent.