Trib HSSN May Madness: Montour’s Devin Wilson vs. New Castle’s Malik Hooker

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, May 26, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday and running through 9 a.m. Wednesday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this second-round matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Wednesday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys; Round 2, Day 2:

Devin Wilson vs. Malik Hooker is a battle between Parkway Conference rivals who went head-to-head on both the football field and the basketball court.

Devin Wilson — Montour Class of 2013

(Basketball, football)

• Defeated Jordan Geist of Knoch in the first round, 58 percent to 42 percent.

• 2013 Pittsburgh Tribune Review male athlete of the year.

• 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune Review Terrific 25 in football 2013 Terrific 10 in basketball all-star selections.

• Scored more than 1,400 points for his career and averaged 17 points per game his senior year in leading the Spartans to the WPIAL Class AAA championship.

• During his four years as a starter, the Montour basketball team went 72-18, won district championships his sophomore and senior seasons and reached the PIAA title game his junior and senior years.

•During his four years as a starter, the Montour football team went 33-7 and reached the WPIAL championship game twice, losing to Central Valley in 2010 and beating Knoch in 2011.

• A wide receiver and cornerback, Wilson finished his career as the all-time WPIAL leading receiver in both receptions with 230 and receiving yards with 3,192.

• He received numerous Division I scholarships in both football and basketball and was leaning toward playing football at the next level until the basketball season of his senior year when he concentrated on hoops for his future.

• Wilson played basketball as a guard at Virginia Tech.

Malik Hooker — New Castle Class of 2014

(Football, basketball)

• Defeated Robert Foster of Central Valley in the first round, 73 percent to 27 percent.

• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star team member in 2013 and Terrific 10 basketball all-star member in 2014.

• Did not start playing football until his junior year. Played defensive back, wide receiver and returned kicks.

• As a senior, Hooker scored 13 touchdowns and was a standout on defense in helping New Castle to a 7-3 record and the ‘Canes first playoff game in four years.

• Was a member of the New Castle basketball team for four years, helping them win three straight WPIAL championships his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

• At the time, Hooker finished his basketball career as the second leading scorer in New Castle history with 1,627 points.

• In his senior season, Hooker averaged nearly 22 points, 9.5 rebounds, nearly 4 steals and 2 blocks per game.

• New Castle finished a perfect 31-0 in Hooker’s senior season in 2014, winning WPIAL gold and the school’s first PIAA championship after a 52-39 win over LaSalle College.

• Hooker played college football as a safety at Ohio State and is playing in the NFL for Indianapolis.

Check out updated brackets here.

Devin Wilson – @DevWil_XI
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Malik Hooker – @MalikHooker24

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) May 26, 2020

Tags: Montour, New Castle