Montour grad Devin Wilson followed in big footsteps during Spartans’ ‘glory days’

By:
Monday, June 8, 2020 | 11:54 AM


Trib HSSN has been fortunate to cover a lot of great athletes the last two decades. While the ‘Best of the Century’ contest continues, HSSN will feature some of these high school stars from the last two decades Monday and Thursday on the Rebel Yell podcast.

The first few years of this past decade were the golden years for Montour sports.

Many games were won, section titles captured and WPIAL championships earned in both football and boys basketball thanks in part to Devin Wilson.

Wilson was a standout two-sport athlete who helped the Spartans go a combined 105-25 in both basketball and football in his four years at Montour.

Championship-winning coaches Adam Kaufman in hoops and Lou Cerro in football, along with a special group of athletes led by Wilson in both sports, won a WPIAL basketball and football championship and were runners-up twice in PIAA basketball and once in WPIAL football.

“I don’t think it’s set in yet,” Wilson said. “With a lot of us getting out of college now and getting on with our lives, but when you look back at it now, you realize what kind of success you had there, how many games you won there and how rarely you lost. I think it’s a great thing to call those the glory days. You had great coaches and great guys.”

Wilson was named to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football and Terrific 10 basketball teams his senior year, which was capped off by being named the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review male athlete of the year in 2013.

He scored more than 1,400 points in his basketball career, and in the “toughest decision of his life,” he choose basketball over football for college and had a successful career at Virginia Tech.

He felt pressure the first day he walked through the doors at Montour his freshman year as he was following in the big footsteps of his older brother, Christian, himself a two-sport star for the Spartans. A 2008 graduate, Christian went on to play tight end at North Carolina.

“No pressure from him, I think pressure on myself maybe,” Wilson said. “You always want to be better than your older brother, but he was always my No. 1 fan. He was always there supporting me.

“Influential-wise, he’s been my idol since I can remember. Everything he’s ever done, I’ve tried to follow in his footsteps.”

Wilson was one of 32 athletes in HSSN’s Best of the Century contest and took time to talk to us about his scholastic career.

Click to watch Don Rebel and James Dotson visit with Devin Wilson.

Tags:

More Basketball

Hall of fame basketball coach Joe Lafko steps down at Hampton
Corey Dotchin steps down as Highlands boys basketball coach
PIAA taking bids to host basketball championships
Basketball coach Rob Niederberger, who lifted Shaler from last place to WPIAL contender, resigns
Penn Hills senior joins Point Park basketball at exciting time