Take A Look Back Tuesday: Wesley Person Jr
By Kirven Lang
Taking a look back at the class of 2014, there were several players who may have not gotten as much hype as others but had better freshman seasons on the court.
On the division-I level, there were a good number of players who had major impacts their first collegiate season. Let’s start with one who made the most impact by numbers.
Wesley “Tatt” Person Jr. had the best season when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. The Brantley High School product averaged 14.2 points/game throughout the season and was pretty consistent with scoring double digits every game but four. In his first division-1 bout, Person dropped in 25 points in a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss, going 5-11 from three and 10-10 from the FT line. He followed that game cashing in 20 points in a loss to another high major program, the Georgia Bulldogs. His best scoring outings were back to back with a 28 point game in a conference loss to LA-Lafayette followed by a 31 point outing in a conference win over UT-Arlington. Person finished his season off just like he started it scoring 25 points in a conference loss to South Alabama going 50 percent from the field and 7-7 from the charity stripe.
On the division-I level, there were a good number of players who had major impacts their first collegiate season. Let’s start with one who made the most impact by numbers.
Wesley “Tatt” Person Jr. had the best season when it comes to putting the ball in the basket. The Brantley High School product averaged 14.2 points/game throughout the season and was pretty consistent with scoring double digits every game but four. In his first division-1 bout, Person dropped in 25 points in a 74-64 loss to Ole Miss, going 5-11 from three and 10-10 from the FT line. He followed that game cashing in 20 points in a loss to another high major program, the Georgia Bulldogs. His best scoring outings were back to back with a 28 point game in a conference loss to LA-Lafayette followed by a 31 point outing in a conference win over UT-Arlington. Person finished his season off just like he started it scoring 25 points in a conference loss to South Alabama going 50 percent from the field and 7-7 from the charity stripe.
Although most of Person’s best scoring bouts came in losses, it definitely wasn’t from Person being inefficient. The son of former Auburn and NBA player Wesley Person and the nephew of former Auburn and NBA player Chuck Person who is now an assistant coach at Auburn, the younger Person has made his own legacy at Troy. His stellar freshman season led to several accolades and placed him Troy's record books.
Named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year … Set the Troy Division I freshman points record with 412 points ... Averaged 14.2 points per game, the second best on the team and 10th best in the conference … Averaged 2.6 3-pointers per game, which ranked 68th in the nation, and fourth amongst freshmen in the NCAA … Shot 37 percent (74-of-200), which was the fourth best percentage freshmen in the country, 61st overall … Made a 3-pointer in every game, the most since Bobby Dixon hit a trey in 34-straight games, spanning over two seasons … Shot 79.1 percent (72-of-91) from the charity stripe, the eighth best in the Sun Belt … Led all freshmen, sixth overall, in the Sun Belt shooting 37.2 percent from long range … Sunk 2.6 trey’s per game, the second most in the Sun Belt … Scored in double figures in 25 of 29 games during his freshman season, including five games with 20+ points … Scored a career-high 31 points in Troy’s 71-66 win over UT Arlington as he shot 11-of-16 from the floor, and 5-of-6 from downtown … Scored 3+ 3-pointers in 11 games … Led the Trojans in points seven times … First true freshman to start a season opener since Rhodney Donaldson made his debut as a Trojan on Nov. 27, 1993, vs. George Mason. (Information provided by TroyTrojans.com)
"Overall I think I had a pretty productive freshman season. Coming in young not knowing that I would assume such a huge role on that team early, I felt that I handled it well and was able to accomplish a lot." said Person Jr when asked how he thinks his freshman season went. "Besides my team, our coaching staff here at Troy and myself, I don't think a lot of people saw it coming. But with the amount of work I put in I expected big things." said Person about how he expected his frosh season to go.
Ranking Wesley Person Jr #18 in our final class of 2014 player rankings was probably a mistake but we are happy to admit it and who knew he would have such a great season besides him. Person has a chance to be the next player from the Sun Belt to make some noise and jump into some draft boards if he continues to have seasons like he did his first year on campus at Troy.
"I feel that with the amount of work I've put in this summer to improve my game, I will have a better season and be able to help lead the team in the right direction."
Named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year … Set the Troy Division I freshman points record with 412 points ... Averaged 14.2 points per game, the second best on the team and 10th best in the conference … Averaged 2.6 3-pointers per game, which ranked 68th in the nation, and fourth amongst freshmen in the NCAA … Shot 37 percent (74-of-200), which was the fourth best percentage freshmen in the country, 61st overall … Made a 3-pointer in every game, the most since Bobby Dixon hit a trey in 34-straight games, spanning over two seasons … Shot 79.1 percent (72-of-91) from the charity stripe, the eighth best in the Sun Belt … Led all freshmen, sixth overall, in the Sun Belt shooting 37.2 percent from long range … Sunk 2.6 trey’s per game, the second most in the Sun Belt … Scored in double figures in 25 of 29 games during his freshman season, including five games with 20+ points … Scored a career-high 31 points in Troy’s 71-66 win over UT Arlington as he shot 11-of-16 from the floor, and 5-of-6 from downtown … Scored 3+ 3-pointers in 11 games … Led the Trojans in points seven times … First true freshman to start a season opener since Rhodney Donaldson made his debut as a Trojan on Nov. 27, 1993, vs. George Mason. (Information provided by TroyTrojans.com)
"Overall I think I had a pretty productive freshman season. Coming in young not knowing that I would assume such a huge role on that team early, I felt that I handled it well and was able to accomplish a lot." said Person Jr when asked how he thinks his freshman season went. "Besides my team, our coaching staff here at Troy and myself, I don't think a lot of people saw it coming. But with the amount of work I put in I expected big things." said Person about how he expected his frosh season to go.
Ranking Wesley Person Jr #18 in our final class of 2014 player rankings was probably a mistake but we are happy to admit it and who knew he would have such a great season besides him. Person has a chance to be the next player from the Sun Belt to make some noise and jump into some draft boards if he continues to have seasons like he did his first year on campus at Troy.
"I feel that with the amount of work I've put in this summer to improve my game, I will have a better season and be able to help lead the team in the right direction."