Biography Of A Scoring Legend

WILSON PUT UP LOFTY NUMBERS

FARMINGTON — Coming into Matt Wilson’s senior year, the team dynamic changed when classmate Matt Thomas transferred to Pea Ridge, leaving Wilson and Cade Fenton as the only returning starters.

“One thing we focussed on in the summer was building trust,” Wilson said.

The result was a 20-win season with victories over 7A schools and key wins over 6A foes in a blended 6A/5A District 1.

“They always trusted me even when I wasn’t making it,” Wilson said. “I think trust was a big part of it. I always trusted them.”

Wilson lit up 6A Siloam Springs for a school-record 49 points early in January, then bested his own mark with a 50-point performance against 5A West rival Clarksville, both wins for the Cardinals.

“That would be my favorite memory from this season, breaking the record twice, and how excited my teammates were for me,” Wilson said. “Those nine seniors, we all have been together since seventh grade. It was nice to be all together with them to make memories together.”

Wilson’s numbers for 27 games, display strong all-around contributions with 4.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, 3.4 turnovers, and 2.1 foulsper-game. His shooting statistics for 27 games are solid, showing: 273 field goals made out of 540 field goal attemps, which translates into 51 percent field-goal shooting. Those numbers break down as 85 3-point field goals made out of 227 3-point field goal attempts for a 37 percent 3-point field-goal shooting percentage, 188 field goals made from 2-point range out of 313 2-point field goals attempted for a 60 percent 2-point field-goal shooting percentage, and 154 free throws made out of 203 free throws attempted for 76 percent free-throw shooting. He scored 805 points for the year, averag- ing 28.8 points-per-game through 28 games. Wilson might have hit 1,000 points for the season if the Cardinals could have qualified for state, which would have resulted in at least three more games.

Farmington coach Beau Thompson recently submitted Wilson’s achievements in 11 different categories to the Arkansas Activities Association.

“There was 11 times this season he could get in the record books,” Thompson said. “To do that, 11 categories for one season, that’s pretty impressive.”

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington’s Cade Fenton won the opening jump ball versus Siloam Springs. He is tipping the basketball to guard Matthew Wilson (No. 2) in the backcourt. Wilson barely crossed mid-court when he drained a deep trifecta the first of a schoolrecord 49 points during his senior season when he set a new single-season mark for the Cardinal boys with 805 points, an average of 28.8-points-per-game.

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Finishing on the fast-break. Cardinal 2017 graduate Matthew Wilson’s ability to get to the basket and score in traffic makes him a threat inside the paint. Here he puts in two of his 25 first-half points versus Siloam Springs of his 49 total on Jan. 3. Wilson will play college basketball for Delta State, a Division II power at Cleveland, Mississippi. He has been traveling with Point Guard College spreading goodwill as a basketball ambassador.