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SPORTS
www.villagenewsonline.com
Interest in Wiley, Falden
gaining steam this summer
By Josh Mathews
TYREK WILLIAMS
LC Bird bigman
receives college
first offer
By Josh Mathews
Attending a high school (L.C Bird)
stockpiled with college basketball prospects,
it would make sense that forward Tyrek Williams plays for a prospect-laden AAU team:
the River City Reign.
The 6-8, 205-pound rising junior picked
up his first offer which came from the Division I school, Mount St. Mary’s.
News of the offer came from
River City Reign’s twitter account
– @RiverCityReign.
To a casual sports fan,
Williams name may not ring
a bell. The younger brother
of 2016 L.C. Bird graduate
and hoopster Tahkey Williams missed all of last season with a broken bone in
his leg.
That being said, he’s
certainly on the college
basketball prospect radar.
“Tyrek has been really good since he’s returned
to play,” said the Reign’s
16U assistant coach Chris Herron. “He is a
strong player who finishes well around the
basket.”
Williams has put in extra work with L.C.
Bird assistant coach Marlon Lancaster, this
summer developing his post game.
Statistically speaking, the junior has
been good for averages of 14 points and 10
rebounds per game – a double-double. That’s
the same type of role and production that Herron (an assistant who coached at Bird) and
coach Troy Manns hope he puts forth on the
floor for the Skyhawks this coming winter.
As the AAU season hits its home stretch,
the Reign will play in “Zero Gravity” at
UTURN this coming weekend and in a few
showcase games for Big Shots at Lee-Davis
High School after that, with at least one more
event to be announced.
“We’re just looking to continue to get
better,” Herron said. “Give our guys, including Tyrek, the opportunity to compete on a
platform where they can be seen.”
As the summer wears on, there may not
be a hotter sports story in South Chesterfield
than the collective heat that L.C. Bird boys’
basketball is generating on the recruiting
trail.
In addition to Tyrek Williams, two other Skyhawks have picked up recent offers in
Johquin “Pinky” Wiley and 5A State Player
of the Year Charles Falden.
Wiley, a rising senior, has been the recipient of two mid-major offers and added
Campbell University of the Big South Conference to his tally this past week. Previous
offers came in from Longwood and James
Madison.
L.C. Bird’s point guard, Wiley plays his
AAU ball for Team Loaded. His third offer
comes on the strength of his academics, but
also his leadership and knowledge of
the game on the floor.
“Pinky’s basketball acumen
is what makes him fit with other guards,” Bird head coach Troy
Manns said. “He’s super smart and
knows how to run a team, also
putting his
teammates in
the
best position to be
successful.”
In
a
pressure situation for L.C.
Bird, Wiley appears to keep
his cool and focus, remaining relatively unfazed. In addition to setting up teammates, he
has the ability to take the ball
off the dribble or hit a jumper
to give his team a first-person
offensive boost.
“As a point guard
PINKY
he
does whatever it
WILEY
takes for our team to
be successful,” said
Manns. “He has excellent timing and is not afraid
of the big moment.”
Wiley has drawn interest from several other schools, including Virginia Commonwealth University and other mid-major
programs. Statistically speaking, Wiley averaged 10.5 points per contest, third on the
team to go with a team-leading 5.2 assists
per game for the 5A state runner-ups.
Falden, L.C. Bird’s leading scorer on
what is a balanced attack has seen an uptick
in interest over the past week.
While Falden is committed to prep
school according to River City Reign coach
Chris Herron, reports that schools have been
lining up for the guard’s services since he
gained eligibility in June. Campbell University (Buies Creek, N.C.) Virginia Military
Institute, and Division II
Lincoln Memorial University (Harrogate, Tenn.)
also came calling.
Prior to the recent
flurry of action, Division
II schools Virginia Union
and Mount Olive, N.C.
extended offers the combo guard’s way.
One of the smoothest
scorers in the area, Falden
has shown an ability to
penetrate, consistently
taking opposing players off the dribble.
Perhaps his deadline
move is a pullup mid-range
jumper.
His
outside shooting
has developed as well.
Simply put, Falden has a
track record of scoring
the basketball.
Falden
led L.C. Bird in scoring at 16.4 points per
game and exploded for 35 points in the 5A
state title game, including 19 in the fourth
quarter and 12 points in a span of 57 seconds of game clock. To help display and
hone his skills even further, he will attend the Nike Victor Oladipo Skills
Academy, along with Hanover’s
Jason Wade.
Prince George’s Cory
Hill will join Falden as
a local at Massanutten
Military, the same prep
school that Petersburg
alum Frank Mason
attended. Mason is
entering his senior
season as the starting point guard at
Kansas.
CHARLES FALDEN
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