Wilkins propels Spartans to victory
Isaiah Wilkins is good.
Any observer of Georgia basketball already knows this, and once again the GAC standout treated the crowd to a show of all around great basketball Saturday night at the Jared Cook Classic. The senior forward did everything short of selling tickets.
His effort on both ends of the floor helped lead Greater Atlanta Christian to an 89-55 win over Seneca, from South Carolina.
Wilkins finished with a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Throw in some highlight dunks and some nifty passes, he filled up the stat sheet.
“It was an outstanding performance,” GAC coach Eddie Martin said. “His confidence level is so high. He’s a high-energy guy. Most of the time it’s on defense.”
The Virginia signee has built a reputation as being the anchor on the Spartans frontcourt. What’s also obvious is the improvement of Wilkins’ offensive game since the end of last season.
Wilkins was excellent around the basket and knocked down his patented mid-range jumper. His energy got the Spartans (3-0) going and ensured Seneca never thought it had a chance to be in the game after GAC jumped out to a large lead in the first quarter.
“Coach Martin is always talking about throwing the first punch,” Wilkins said. “When I hit my first two free throws I knew I was going to be ok. My teammates were finding me.”
Spartans point guard Troy Morrison was the primary person looking for the 6-foot-7 forward. He was driving and dishing out passes to any open teammate. Morrison finished with 12 assists.
One of his better passes came when Wilkins hammered home a two-handed alley-oop.
“He played well,” said Morrison of Wilkins. “He hit shots. He’s going to do what he does.”
What Wilkins’ effort did was discourage a South Carolina team looking to make some noise in Georgia.
“They were very physical,” sophomore point guard Xzavier Barmore said. “They just played so hard and ran the floor well.”
Martin has seen similar performances over the years and was still impressed with Wilkins effort.
“If you had him in a fantasy league he would’ve scored a lot of points for you,” Martin joked.