Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By BRENNA VICKERY | Special to the Reporter

Pelham basketball has a longstanding tradition of producing exemplary student-athletes, and senior Joe Wimberly is no exception.

Since moving to Pelham from Calera during his junior year, Wimberly has been a major contributor to the success of the Panthers’ basketball program and head coach Greg Dickinson.

“He has the type of work ethic every coach wants from all of his players,” Dickinson said. “He is an amazing leader for our team.”

Throughout his high school career, Wimberly has transformed into an explosive threat and leader for the Pelham offense, becoming one of the team’s key players during his senior season.

As a junior, he led the team in points scored last season and is on track to do so again this season.

Wimberly averaged 11.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game as a junior, showing a strong presence of creating opportunities, consistently getting the ball to his teammates and racking up assists.

However, his skillset is not limited to point scoring.

Wimberly is a formidable force on defense as well as offense, leading the team in steals. Last year, that led to 82 total steals on the defensive end of the floor, which was the second-highest mark in Shelby County.

It’s that effort on both ends of the floor that helps him flourish for the Panthers, but it also shows his ability to be a key teammate—a reason he pours in the effort he does each day.

“My teammates aren’t just my teammates,” Wimberly said. “I look at them as my brothers, and I will always go to war with and for them.”

In his senior year, Wimberly said he continues to strive for the greatness that has come before him in the longstanding list of premier Pelham athletes, something that has put the Panthers in strong position late in the season.