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| Person is Tripled Teamed |
DOTHAN, Alabama (al.com) - Wesley Person saved his best for last Friday night.
The question now is what is next?
The
Brantley senior - and son of former NBA and Auburn star Wesley Person
Sr. - scored a career-high 55 points in the Class 1A South Regional
final, almost single-handedly willing his Bulldogs to next week's Final
48.
"It was one
of the best performances I've ever witnessed," Brantley coach Andrew
Kilcrease said. "I told him before the game that he had to play the best
he could in order to carry this team to Birmingham. I can't put into
words how good he was today."
Person's final high school performance wasn't quite enough. Lucky
Travis scored with two seconds on the clock to lift Sunshine to a dramatic 82-80 win over the Bulldogs.
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| Person Elevates to New Heights |
It was still hard to dampen Person's heroics.
He
was 15-of-26 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three-point range,
and 22 of 28 from the foul line. He also led his team in rebounds with
nine.
"I'm not
one to brag on my performance," said Person, who had a 45-point game
earlier this season. "But, if our team needs a score and the coach wants
to put the ball in my hands, then I'm going to try to get that score."
Kilcrease said Person's father once scored 59 in a
regular-season game against Luverne, but this - while four points shy of
that total - was different.
"In a high-profile game like this? To do what he did? Amazing," Kilcrease said.
Person's
performance also wasn't lost on Sunshine coach Walter Jones, who sent
defender after defender against him in an effort to finally tire him
out.
"Here is what I told our guys," Jones said. "'You want to see a basketball player? That's a basketball player right there.'"
Person's
college future is somewhat surprisingly still up in the air. He said
Friday he has offers from UAB, Mercer, Western Carolina and Troy.
Kilcrease said Auburn showed interest in him last summer but his
father's alma mater seemingly has backed off a bit at this point.
His grades aren't a concern, Kilcrease said.
"They are wonderful," he said. "He made a 23 on the ACT in ninth grade."
That
likely leaves only one thing - his size. Person is listed as 6-foot-3.
Kilcrease said Wesley Sr. was 6-4 in high school and grew into a
6-foot-6 frame at Auburn.
"I think that will happen with Wesley as well," Kilcrease said.
Kilcrease said Person, who took Brantley to the 1A championship game last year, grew about two inches in the last 12 months.
"I
think his best basketball is yet to come," he said of his star. "I
think he will be an awesome player and, if someone couldn't see that
today, I don't know what it will take. Maybe he opened some eyes.
"I'll say this: Whoever gets him will be getting a good one because he has some kind of determination."
