By todd traub
Leader sports editor
Sylvan Hills coach Kevin Davis was serious when he asked a bystander Saturday if standout Archie Goodwin looked sluggish.
Yeah, about 22 points worth of sluggish.
Goodwin matched his scoring average from last year over four quarters against Stuttgart and Jacksonville at Jacksonville’s high school jamboree at the Devil’s Den. While he may have looked sharp to the untrained eye, Davis felt Goodwin might have been a fraction of a second slower than usual.
But, Davis pointed out, that’s understandable given the fact Goodwin had just gotten off a plane after a recruiting visit to Kentucky that morning.
“Archie had a great summer,” Davis said. “We felt like he had a great sophomore year. He was all state as a sophomore. He’sgetting the exposure now. He’s a great kid and it’s well deserved.”
That exposure includes interest from a who’s who of the nation’s top NCAA Division I basketball programs.
“Everybody,” Davis said when asked about Goodwin’s collegiate suitors. “We’ve had North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Kansas and the list goes on and on. Those are basketball schools.”
Goodwin, 6-5, 180 pounds, averaged 22 points and between 5-6 rebounds last year as he put himself on the major college radar.
While recruiting gurus will spend today breathlessly wondering if East Poinsett County’s Rashad “Ky” Madden will sign with Arkansas or someone else as the national signing period begins, it is expected that
Goodwin will be the next prized recruit to grab the spotlight.
That means the light also shines on the Sylvan Hills program, which is fine with Davis.
“I’ve been at Sylvan Hills 13 years and that’s what I said 13 years ago — that’s what I wanted to happen,” Davis said. “I wanted these kids and this program to be a billboard for us and what we’re doing over at Sylvan Hills.”
The Bears played just two quarters each against the Ricebirds and Falcons under the jamboree format.
Davis said the competition was a chance to see his players in game conditions for the first time and for the players to hopefully see practice lessons put in play.
“Sometimes you hammer it you hammer it and hammer it in practice,” he said.
“But until kids get in game-like situations it doesn’t stand out. We’ve got some film of what we did so it’s a teaching tool.”
