Here we take at Auburn basketball‘s Austin Wiley, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the week of Jan.15 – Jan.21.
Auburn basketball experienced a fair week, taking two wins over two rivals with a nice cherry-on-top with a blowout over the Crimson Tide 64-84. It had been difficult for the offense to get its motor rolling following a blowout by Kentucky over the Tigers — which did exhibit an OK first half — but they found their stride taking on LSU on Jan. 18.
What got everything going, however, was the utilization of one of the best big men in the SEC. Austin Wiley earned more minutes with his performance against LSU, scoring 10 points, grabbing six rebounds and getting two blocks in the 78-74 victory. The 6-foot-11, 255-pound center was heralded by Charles Barkley, the Round Mound of Rebound himself, and continued his performance rolling into the Iron Bowl.
Wiley would tally career-high marks against Alabama, scoring 19 points and pulling nine rebounds in 25 minutes of play. Coming out of the gate in the second half tied 30-30, Wiley would score 15 of his 19 and have seven of his rebounds come in for a performance of the season.
Over the course of this week, Wiley averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two victories. His NBA draft stock rose, and the hype for the future of Auburn basketball skyrocketed.
Without Wiley, this sort of outing would not have been possible. Having size in the paint, the dominance that was a Horace Spencer and Austin Wiley show, allows for more efficient shooting beyond the arc. Presence that has been lacking for a few years for Auburn has now been found, and it keeps them looking ahead for what could be a perfect prologue to the 2017-18 season.
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Although he did perform well, there still exists the possibility that Wiley may not be hanging around for as long as most Tiger fans would hope. Barkley had offered the idea that Wiley would need another year or two to be ready for the NBA — and it might be needed.
A potential one-and-a-half-done project, Wiley has exhibited talent for Auburn that hasn’t existed in well over a decade. If he is able to improve upon his jump shot, while still maintaining his ability to use his size close to the rim, Wiley has the capability of being a beast for years to come.
It’ll be difficult to understand the process of any of Auburn’s future and current recruits coming in and doing what Wiley has done — slowly easing in and quickly becoming dominant. Auburn will look to become another piece in the Kentucky-led SEC, and Wiley, along with Mustapha Heron, T.J. Dunans and others will hope to accomplished.
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It is hoped that maybe they can do the same thing against South Carolina, a team who was previously ranked in the top 25. This could be the time for Auburn to get national recognition and get the party started early.