By GRAHAM POWELL
Leader sportswriter
The first part of 2013 was a period full of various amounts of success and accomplishments for sports teams and individual athletes from this part of the state, so much so that not all of it could be fit into this column.
But here’s a look at the top local sports stories from January through June with the top story of the entire year being Jacksonville High School’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams winning the class 5A state championships in March.
Both the Red Devils and Lady Red Devils showed why the city of Jacksonville is a basketball hotbed, as both won the state championship in their respective classification on the same day – March 8 at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock.
It was the second state championship in school history for the Red Devils, who beat Alma 56-53, and the second in five years. The Jacksonville boys won the school’s first state title in 2009, when the Pulaski County school participated in class 6A.
The Lady Red Devils’ state championship was their first in school history, and they had a slightly easier time in their matchup than the boys did, beating two-time class 5A state runner-up Paragould 54-43.
JACKSON BECOMES A HOG
The MVP in the girls’ state title game leads to the next top story, Jessica Jackson signing with the
University of Arkansas. Rated as high as the No. 7 recruit in the country, Jackson was being recruited by every major university out there.
She made a verbal commitment to the Razorbacks in the summer of 2012, but made it official on April 19 by signing her national letter of intent. As a true freshman, Jackson has led the Razorback women to a 12-0 start, and leads the team in scoring with 14.8 points per game, and is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 5.3 per game. She also has a team-high 19 blocks.
As a senior at Jacksonville, Jackson led the Lady Red Devils to a 26-4 record and a perfect 14-0 record in 5A Central play.
She averaged 22 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks per game in her final high-school season, and earned WBCA All-America honors in addition to all of the top accolades within the state.
Though she kept her ears open to serious pitches from other major universities close by, such as Texas, Texas A & M and Kentucky, just to name a few, she never wavered from her dream to play for the Razorbacks, and she’s the primary piece to a team that’s on the rise in the SEC.
HARRIS SWITCHES
Another Jacksonville native that made headlines this year is former Red Devil football standout Demetrius Harris, who in late April signed a three-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
What made Harris’ signing so unique is the fact he spent his entire collegiate career on the hardwood instead of the football field, as he played four years of basketball for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Harris, who plays tight end and is listed as 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, according to the Chiefs’ official website, spent his whole college career playing basketball because he thought his dreams of playing football were shot down because of a low ACT score.
Chiefs’ general manager John Dorsey, who is in his first season as the team’s GM, found out about Harris two years ago when he was a scout for the Green Bay Packers.
A tip was given to Dorsey while at an Arkansas high school all-star game about an Arkansas player who fell through the cracks a couple of years before and who was playing college basketball in the Green Bay area.
Dorsey sent Chiefs’ scout Ryan Kessenich to Milwaukee to evaluate a personal workout for Harris and to interview him on April 5, which gave Harris one week to prepare. Harris dazzled in everything but strength drills.
He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds, the second fastest of all tight ends this year. He displayed a 36 1/2 vertical leap and did a 10-2 broad jump, which were both in the upper ranks of the tight end position. His shuttle runs and cone drills were just as impressive.
Before signing with Kansas City, the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens all wanted private workouts with Harris. Scouts or coaches from nine other teams came to his pro-day workout on April 13.
GOODWIN GONE
Another Pulaski County native that took his game to the professional level, albeit in basketball, is former Sylvan Hills High School and University of Kentucky basketball standout Archie Goodwin, who was drafted 29th overall on June 27, originally by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Goodwin was the second-youngest player in this year’s NBA draft, and after being selected by the Thunder, his rights were traded to the Golden State Warriors and then the Phoenix Suns, the organization for which he currently plays.
A 2012 graduate of Sylvan Hills High School, Goodwin led the Bears to their first ever state basketball championship and was one of the top-rated players in the class of 2012.
While attending Sylvan Hills, he was twice named Gatorade Player of the Year in Arkansas, and was named to the McDonald’s and Parade All-American teams as a senior.
In his one year at the University of Kentucky, Goodwin led the Wildcats in scoring as he averaged 14.1 points per game. After his one-and-done collegiate career, Goodwin shined in the NBA summer league. During that stretch, his best game was a 22-point, 4-rebound performance against the Memphis Grizzlies – a game Phoenix won 100-88.
The Sylvan Hills native has yet to log significant minutes as a pro, but is seeing more and more time on the floor as the season progresses. His best game yet as an NBA player came last month against the New Orleans Pelicans.
In that game, Goodwin played a season-high 17 minutes and scored 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting and added three rebounds and three blocks to his stats.
UNMATCHED EXCELLENCE
The final top story that made its way into this column is the legacy that 2013 Cabot High School graduate Tyler Kurz left for wrestlers across the state. It’s a legacy that no one has matched. In February, Kurz became the first four-time state wrestling champion in the brief five-year history of Arkansas High School wrestling.
In his final match as a Panther, Kurz defeated Edwin Santos of Rogers High School to win the 182-pound division in the 7A/6A classifications. Kurz won his state titles in four different weight classes, moving up significantly in weight each year.
Before capturing the 182-pound championship, Kurz won the 112-pound title as a freshman, the 125-pound title as a sophomore and the 145-pound title as a junior. Kurz finished his senior season with an 18-1 record, with his only loss coming to Santos in an earlier meeting. What a perfect setting to avenge an only loss.
Kurz is currently wrestling for Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia.