Isaiah Wilson (5) of Lima Senior brings the ball up against Ottawa-Glandorf earlier this season.
Jessica Trinko | The Lima News
LIMA — Saying next man up is easy. Coaches and players say it all the time.
But when a key player in a team’s starting lineup is suddenly sidelined by an injury, finding someone to be the next man up often isn’t nearly as easy.
Lima Senior’s boys basketball team had an 8-6 record through its first 14 games. The Spartans expected to be better than that.
But they also didn’t anticipate playing those 14 games without point guard Amari Addy, who started as a freshman last season.
Addy, a 6-foot sophomore, suffered an ACL injury in the summer and has been out the entire season so far.
Last year he showed signs he could be a player who could score, deliver assists, come up with steals, and shoot the three.
Fortunately for the Spartans, Isaiah Wilson, who took over at point guard after Addy’s injury, has years of experience at that position and can score, deliver assists, come up with steals, and shoot the three.
The 5-11 junior guard is averaging 14.6 points a game, leads the team in assists (4.4 per game), and his 19 three-pointers are third in that category behind Shawn Foster and Jagger Hutchins. He had a career-best 26 points against Toledo Whitmer.
“I’ve been a point guard my whole life ever since I started playing basketball. So I know how to play the point guard position,” Wilson said.
He started a handful of games last season as a sophomore and was one of the first players off the bench the rest of the time.
He averaged 8.5 points a game last season, with a high game of 19 points against Perrysburg in the district championship game. He also scored in double figures in several other games, including 15 points against Oregon Clay, 14 against Dayton Dunbar, 11 against Shawnee, and 10 against Lima Central Catholic and Mansfield Senior.
One of the things that stands out about his game is his ability to break down a defender and get to the rim. That starts with his quickness.
“It’s a God-given gift I’ve always had that I can use to my advantage because nine times out of 10 I’m faster than my opponents,” Wilson said.
Lima Senior coach Quincey Simpson said, “He’s always been a point guard but he’s now got to drive the car for us. And as a coach, I have to be willing to take some of the mistakes he has. But he has done a phenomenal job. And he wants to be better.”
Wilson said he looks forward to playing alongside Addy in the future.
“He’s a big piece we’re missing right now. We’re doing good without him but when he comes back we’ll be even better than we are now,” he said.
Addy is not the only starter the Spartans have missed because of an injury. Je’Kel Cotton, a 6-6 junior, was off to a hot start, averaging 17.2 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, before suffering a broken foot during a 92-38 win at Toledo Woodward in the fourth game of the season on Dec. 15.
One of the adjustments to Cotton’s absence has been Hutchins, a 6-7 junior, spending some more time close to the rim.
“He (Hutchins) is buying in. He’s probably one of our better shooters but he’s definitely buying into having some shots at the rim. He has played really aggressive around the basket,” Simpson said.
