By Lee Davis
All-Star Basketball game. Journal file photo by Marvin Gentry.
Austin Wiley entered the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s All-Star Week with a big reputation.
He left it with an even bigger one.
Wiley, Spain Park’s 6-foot-11-inch center who has already committed to Auburn University, put together an impressive show in the North-South All-Star Basketball game.
Wiley scored 30 points and snatched 15 rebounds to lead the North to an 84-73 victory over the South. The game was played at Montgomery’s Acadome on the campus of Alabama State University.
Few were more impressed with Wiley’s performance than Jaguar coach Donnie Quinn. “I thought Austin did a great job of running the floor,” Quinn said. “He showed good leadership and did a nice job on the boards.”
Wiley connected on 14 of 18 shots – including several slam dunks. He also blocked a shot and earned a steal. He was a runaway choice for Most Valuable Player.
The effort climaxed a busy summer for Wiley. In June, he helped Team USA win the FIBA Under-17 World Championships in Zaragoza, Spain. His best game came in a 117-45 rout of Taiwan, when he scored 12 points and bagged 11 rebounds. In an earlier game, he scored 12 points and pulled in four rebounds in a 133-81 domination of South Korea.
Team USA clinched the World Championship with a 96-56 win over Turkey. Wiley scored 6 points with 5 rebounds.
Wiley comes by his talents naturally. His mother, Vicky Orr Wiley, is a former basketball All-American at Auburn and an Olympian.
Homewood’s Luke Touliatos also was selected for the North’s basketball roster.
In the girls All-Star basketball game, the South defeated the North 57-53. Homewood’s Shelby Hardy was a member of the North roster.
In the All-Star football game, the North took a 14-0 victory in a game that was ended in the second quarter because of severe rain and lightning. Spain Park center Gray Best and Jag linebacker Perry Young were on the North roster.
In baseball, the North swept two games from the South 2-0 and 13-2. Spain Park’s Will Battersby pitched two scoreless innings in the first game. Vestavia’s Caden Lemons earned the win in the second contest.
The North also swept the girls softball competition with 12-4 and 4-1 victories. Oak Mountain’s O’Neil Roberson had a single and two RBIs in the second game. Kynadi Tipler of Spain Park was also on the North roster.
Volleyball competition saw the South sweep the North 25-17, 25-16, 25-18. Mountain Brook’s Mary Jordan Kilgore had five kills and five digs for the North squad. The Spartans’ Caroline Davies also had five kills. John Carroll Catholic’s Mary Catherine Hart and Hoover’s Olivia Portera were also on the North team’s roster.
In girls soccer, the North defeated the South 3-2. Mountain Brook’s Mary Walker Poe scored a goal for the North and Oak Mountain’s Alyssa Vest had five saves. Spain Park’s Brennen Cooke, Indian Springs’ Josephine Gray, and Westminster-Oak Mountain’s Carmyn Neal were also on the North team.
In boys soccer, the North scored a 4-2 win over the South. Oak Mountain’s Kennedy Davis scored a goal and Hoover’s Cole Williams earned an assist. Also on the North squad were Spain Park’s Liam Condone, Vestavia’s Connor Johnston, Westminster-Oak Mountain’s Jack Wilson and Mountain Brook’s Jacob Wolanske.
