Burgess back at Benton, Panthers add more
BENTON – The
Benton Panthers are off to a good start to the season coming off of a 12-15 year, including 5-11 in the 5A South, one of the toughest leagues in the state. It was that same 5A South Conference which pushed out the top two teams in 5A when the Pine Bluff Zebras cruised to the state title with a 67-51 win over the Lake Hamilton Wolves.
Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix expects the South to be just as tough this season.
“I think it’s really going to be a loaded conference again,” Hendrix said. “I know Pine Bluff will be very, very talented coming back as the state champ. They bring a lot of guys back. Lake Hamilton is going to be really good, White Hall is talented, Sheridan, Lakeside, they’ll be really good again. With this nine-team conference, trying to make the top four is going to be a big challenge for everybody. It’s fun to compete in a conference like this, but it’s going to be stacked and well-coached with a lot of talent, too.”
A definite key for Benton this year is the return of 4-star prospect and All-state selection Terrion Burgess. The
6-9 Burgess led Saline
County in scoring last season as a sophomore, putting up 23.3 points per game.
“The Michigan assistant coach (Jay Smith) was in the stands to watch him at Searcy,” Hendrix explained. “He’s been to several practices this preseason already.
“He’s the real deal,” Hendrix said of Burgess. “All the attention is welldeserved. He works so hard at it, so talented and a good kid. We’re very fortunate to have him.”
According to 247 Sports, Burgess is the No. 1 player in Arkansas and ranked 47th nationally, even higher in some publications. He scored 32 points to lead the
Panthers in the official season-opener in a 77-50 victory over Searcy after Benton beat Greenbrier 61-34 in the benefit game the week before.
“He played really well and could have had even more, but picked up two early fouls in the first quarter,” Hendrix said. “He made his first 11 shots from the field, shot the three well.”
While the Panthers do return Burgess, they are without graduated senior Jon Bell, who was second in the county averaging 16.7 PPG last year. But, Benton does pick up a proven scorer with Bryant transfer Elem Shelby suiting up for the Panthers this year after averaging 8.9 PPG for the Hornets last year. Shelby finished with 23 points in the win over Searcy.
“Elem Shelby really got off to a hot start for us,” Hendrix said. “He was 5 for 9 from three and shot the three really well. He scored the ball really well in the first half, first quarter, for us when Terrion had to sit down. He picked up the scoring for us.
“It was a big win for us. We played our benefit game against Greenbrier, played really well. Went to Searcy and I thought we did a really good job defensively of creating some turnovers, making some easy baskets, and we shot the ball really well offensively. That really opened things up for us. We were really pleased with how our guys played.”
Along with Burgess and Shelby, Hendrix believes Parkview transfer Harrison Pickett will contribute on the offensive end, too.
“Those two guys along with Harrison Pickett, who moved in,” the Coach said. “Harrison is a 6-3 junior and is really talented offensively, too. He can really score the ball, as well. Those three guys will probably be our leading shot takers.
“You mix in guys like Javarious Russell, who scored the ball well. He