Dec. 17, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Austin Wiley will make his much-anticipated college debut Sunday, and, certainly, this son of Auburn basketball has a tall order to match what his mother and father did in their first times out.
The 6-foot-11 Wiley, who was cleared to play Friday, is penciled in for Sunday's noon game against Mercer in Auburn Arena after enrolling early. He will only have had a couple of days to work Auburn plays, but nevertheless brings the promise of points and a much-needed rebounder.
He'll have to work to match what mom and dad did in their college debuts
His mother, all-American Vickie Orr, had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a 95-74 victory over Central Florida in 1985 in her first game. His dad, Aubrey Wiley, had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and a block in 12 minutes in a 93-78 victory over Southern Miss in his college debut in 1991.
Auburn didn't need a big man in last outing when he set a school record with 21 3-pointers in a 117-72 victory over Coastal Carolina. But the Tigers will need help inside. After Mercer, Auburn plays Oklahoma and Connecticut next week before opening SEC play against Georgia on Dec. 29.
Welcome to Austin Wiley's crash course of Auburn basketball, taught by professor Bruce Pearl, in a Sunday game that will be televised by the SEC Network. And count another freshman in a lineup dominated by freshmen, sophomores and first-year players.
Wiley, s five-star signee in, officially, Auburn's 2017 signing class, is in, for sure, but Bryce Brown and Horace Spencer could miss their second game after being suspended for misdemeanor possession earlier in the week. They weren't missed against Coastal, thanks to the play of guard T.J. Dunans and the inside presence of Anfernee McLemore.
"It was good to see the joy of the game like for somebody like T.J. Dunans back, to see us move the ball so well, and then I did think we did a better job of trying to guard together and rebounding," Pearl said. "I thought Anfernee McLemore gave us a nice strong presence on the inside. Nothing that he did surprised us.
"Now, he's probably going to go to his best position because Horace opened up the door, and he knocked it down, but he's been knocking it down in practice, so there could be some adjustments there with the future rotations that Anfernee is going to get a good strong look at the five to stay there."
Auburn is 7-2. Mercer is 5-5.
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine