Froud Has Built Perennial Power

AN INSIDE LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT OF PRAIRIE GROVE GIRLS BASKETBALL

PRAIRIE GROVE — When Kevin Froud first took over the Prairie Grove girls basketball program, the girls didn’t like him, according to Prairie Grove football coach, Danny Abshier,

“He was real hard on us,” Ashton Abshier said, the daughter of Danny Abshier who was a freshmen when Froud arrived at Prairie Grove.

“When I first met Coach Froud I had a little bit of an attitude problem and he kicked me out of practice for something stupid I did. I rolled my eyes or something. Coach Froud doesn’t put up with rolling your eyes.”

Yet, once the Prairie Grove girls figured out Froud’s intensity was all about driving them to excellence, they began to buy into his philosophy and the program blossomed.

“It didn’t take long for them to start loving him,” Danny Abshier said.

“Ashton kind of set a good standard for them. She’s one of two girls that made it for four years off their inaugural season. She set some high standards for people coming and playing behind her.”

“It started out with Ashton. She was a ninth-grader when I got her,” Froud said. “She had great junior and senior years. I would take a team full of her. She loved to play and she wanted to win.”

“Their group helped get a lot of traditions we’ve had get started, making the state tournament and winning some games at state,” Froud said. “They helped get the ball rolling on our traditions.”

Froud recalls after Prairie Grove beat Huntsville, 53-34, in the 2008 Regional final, long- time Eagles’ coach Charles Berry said that was the worst team he’d ever seen win a Regional tournament and the victory came a week after Huntsville defeated Prairie Grove, 46-37, for the district tournament championship.

Froud recalled an injury Ashton sustained during her sophomore season as being tough on him as a coach.

“That was one of the hardest times, saddest times for me when she blew out her knee,” Froud said.

Ashton Abshier came back strong and eventually landed a full scholarship to Ecclesia College, at Elm Springs, where she played four seasons of women’s basketball for the Lady Royals before tearing her ACL in her senior year.

Fresh off the injury, Ashton showed up on crutches in mid-winter with her dad at the district 2011 tournament held at Gravette to support the Lady Tigers when they won on Justyne Huber’s lastsecond shot off a dribble isolation play to beat U.S. 62 rival, Farmington, 44-42.

The crowning achievement for Froud thus far in his brilliant career at Prairie Grove has been winning the 2010 state championship with a team that went 31-1, claiming conference, district and regional titles along the way.

“That was one of the best athletic teams we’ve had,” Froud said, mentioning the play of Julie Rutherford and Morgan Abernathy.

“We had two good post girls. Elysia Clement could post up or step out and hit a three and Alex Myers was good,” Froud said.

“Tori Thornton came in off the bench. Sometimes we went with Kendra Coyle, who, like, Justyne Huber was playing varsity as a freshman.”

“We’ve had great players the last few years, who could play defense and made some shots,” Froud said. “Courtney Galloway was a deadly 3-point shooter and Kendra Coyle made moves like boys. She could step through and score.”

According to Froud, Huber, the 6-foot senior, has changed a lot of things at Prairie Grove when it comes to the girls basketball program.

“When she was in seventh grade they let me move her up,” Froud said. “She was the first seventh grader to move up and play junior high and she was part of the first state championship team here at Prairie Grove.”

Both Froud and Huber would like to add another title during her senior season. When Huber signed a letter of intent to play women’s college basketball for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith on Nov. 16, her grandmother, Janette Hall, recalled the thrill of winning it all.

“When they played for the state championship the whole town was there,” Hall said.

“She won state as a ninth grader. She’s had a good coach.”

COURTESY PHOTO At 5-foot-10, Ashton Abshier could post up, as pictured here during her junior season against U.S. 62 rival, Farmington, or shoot the 3-pointer. Abshier’s father, Prairie Grove head football coach, Danny Abshier, grew up in Farmington.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Prairie Grove senior guard, Whitnee Fitts, is averaging 10.7 points per game while shooting 75 percent at the freethrow line and 40 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER The Prairie Grove girls basketball program has produced several college scholarship athletes since Kevin Froud took over including: Justyne Huber (left), a current senior; and Ashton Abshier, who was a freshman in Froud’s first season. Abshier played...