SouthArk basketball making inroads at Strong with trio of recruits
Strong has become a hotspot for South Arkansas Community College in recent weeks with a trio of basketball players pledging to play collegiately for the Stars.
Dynasty Davis, Derrion Davis, Jeremiah Young all signed to play for Nate Davis, who is the head coach for both the men’s and women’s programs.
Young is the latest Bulldog to sign, having done so earlier this month.
This past season, Young averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game.
Prior to Young electing to play with the Stars, Dynasty Davis signed to join the women’s team, who will play their first formal season in the fall.
This week, Davis earned AllState honors for the second time in her career, which includes six games with 40-plus points and two with over 50 points, including her career-high of 53 points set during her sophomore year against Woodlawn.
She leaves Strong with a career scoring average of 25.4 points per game.
Derrion Davis is also no stranger to having big games.
As a junior, Davis earned AllState honors after averaging 23.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Bulldogs, scoring 30 or more points in seven of the Bulldogs’ final 10 games.
As a senior, Davis averaged 22 points and eight rebounds per game.
Strong girls basketball coach Jason Porter has had a frontrow seat to watch the trio during their high school careers, and he’s excited about the opportunity to continue to see them in college.
“I’m from Huttig, so I remember back when they had a basketball program when I was little, and I used to go to the games up there,” Porter said. “When they disbanded their team, it was a big deal. A lot of people in the Strong-Huttig area remember that. We followed this group of kids coming through, and we knew, especially Dynasty and
Derrion, that they were great athletes. They had other opportunities to go to other junior colleges, but with them staying closer to home, it allows us to help them out. They’ll still be able to come workout here, but also, we’ll get to watch them and if they need any help with their academics, we’re going to be able to help them. We’ll be able to have them a little longer, and it means a lot to the school and the community.”
SouthArk’s proximity to Strong also holds sway not just for athletes, but for anyone who wants to go to college.
“We have a lot of kids now that didn’t play sports, or they did and they just weren’t college athletes,” Porter said. “We have a lot that go on their visit days to Henderson (State) and SAU (Southern Arkansas University) and all of that, and they say, ‘Well, I want to get my basics at SouthArk, and then I can decide where I want to go.’ That’s a huge deal.
“You can tell some of these kids still have trouble getting out of their comfort zone. They can go take their classes, and they can come back. They’re stepping out a little bit. That’s all you can ask for. They can just keep moving forward if that’s what they want to do with their lives as far as going to college. SouthArk has provided that, and they’ve grown a lot. We have a lot of people that do welding up there, and it means a lot for Strong and Huttig.”
Porter said he was also one who had to come out of his comfort zone when the time came for him to go to college.
“I was the same way,” Porter said. “I know what it’s like. I’ve lived here. In Huttig, we’re the same size as Strong, and when you go to a bigger place, even SAU or Henderson, they’re not big places, but for somebody from down here, it is. I’ve seen so many kids in the last few years go to SouthArk and get their basics in, the classes are a little smaller and they know the kids that are there. Now they’re ready to jump on to a bigger school, and with everything they’ve put in to their college, it’s helped all of the surrounding small towns.”
Porter added that he’s noticed a change in how the school portrays itself, and he believes their return to athletics could be just the tip of the iceberg.
“Whether it’s in their marketing, their facilities, they’ve stepped up a lot,” Porter said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be at the meetings with the higher-ups at the college, and they’re really pushing forward not to just be a little place where people can just come to take classes. They’ve done it sports. That’s a big deal. I think it’s going to take off more than they realize. It may not just be basketball. Junior college baseball and football is a big deal in Mississippi and Louisiana, and there’s tons of baseball or football athletes in this area that can play at that level. I think within I’d say five to 10 years, we’re going to see that.”
Porter also envisions similar growth for women’s sports.
“You look at the Division II schools locally, SAU doesn’t have a soccer program. It’s intramural,” Porter said. “Most of the Division II schools in the state don’t, so if you can get something like that, there are girls from El Dorado, I think Hermitage has a program that would play soccer at a another level. You never know what can come from that. It’s something I know for a fact they’re looking into. They’re just trying to figure out how to do it. I’m hoping that the people from here, the Davises and Jeremiah, they’re on the ground level of something that could be in 20 years and maybe say, ‘I was a part of that when we started it back.’ It’s interesting. I know all of the coaches around here are really excited about it.”