I almost wish I'd met Terence Pierce in another era, when I was covering high school basketball in my home state of Montana.
There were games when my home county rivals, Hardin and Lodge Grass, both orange and black teams (Gravette colors) played to final scores of 117-111 and 108-107 or when the Plenty Coups Warriors, a third county team wearing orange, beat Lodge Grass 126-111.
Yet, watching Pierce perform in his native realm has been no less exciting and those who enjoy watching the young man play the game at the high school level have one more opportunity.
Pierce's determination and personal work ethic have empowered him to become an Arkansas basketball super-star and he will play in the 2014 All-Star game at the Farris Center on the University of Central Arkansas campus at Conway at 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 26.
"It takes hours and hours of shooting [practice] to get anywhere. Some of it comes naturally but most of it comes from hard work," Pierce said.
His advice to youth, who might want to pattern themselves after his skills on the hardwood, "Do whatever you can to make your dreams come true and never give up no matter what the circumstances are."
Pierce's dream to play college basketball propelled him to spend countless hours developing a deep shooting range, making him a consistent threat from anywhere across half-court. His ability to free himself up against defenses concentrating on preventing him from scoring has frustrated opponents as well as earned their respect.
"Honestly, it's an honor to guard someone that good," said Prairie Grove's Tanner Pursell on defending Pierce during a hotly-contested 4A-1 game won by Gravette, 71-66, in January. "I think I had held him [with team help] to six or eight points going into the fourth quarter. Then, he [Pierce] was just hitting crazy shots -- like NBA-range threes. We ended up having to press towards the end and he got a lay-up."
Pierce wound up with 27 points in the contest, including an 8-for-9 performance for 89 percent free-throw shooting, matching his career average. He surpassed Mike Queen (1,623 points from 1994-96) as Gravette's all-time leading scorer on Jan. 10 in a 56-51 home win over Ozark on a 3-pointer.
For his career, Pierce tallied 1,975 total points averaging 22.3 points-per-game in three varsity seasons. He also holds school records for most 3-pointers made (240) and most consecutive free-throws made (25) and state records for most 3-point attempts in a game (18), most 3-point shots made in a game (9) and most 3-pointers in a quarter (6).
Pierce's scoring ability spilled over into academics with a 30 point score on his ACT. For his career plans, Pierce wants to become a management analyst and has been a member of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) during high school.
In May, Pierce signed a national letter of intent to play college basketball with Southern Missouri State University at Joplin. While playing defense has been a weaker part of Pierce's game, that may change in college. According to the Missouri Southern website, coach Jeff Boschee's tutelage helped former player Skyler Bowlin attain both conference player and defender of the year awards in 2011 before signing a professional contract to play in the German Pro League after completing his collegiate career.
Pierce has physical tools to make athletic plays and has elevated to block shots. He holds the school mark of 6' 3" in the high jump and placed second at state as a junior. Pierce has frequently gambled to make steals motivated by opportunities to finish with a slam-dunk utilizing his trademark cross-over dribble to lose players in the open court while pushing the ball up the floor.
Make no mistake, Pierce was not recruited for his defensive highlights. Missouri Southern is well aware of his proficiency to fill up the basket and his 25.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game as a senior when the Lions finished 19-9 and advanced to the Regional tournament.
Pierce has been inspired by Carmello Anthony, who has spent the last few seasons as a New York Knicks forward. "I like how he can take over the scoring load at any point," Pierce says.
That kind of mentality has given Pierce an edge, and when the All-Star game is on the line Thursday, West coach Tony Davis, of Clarksville, and his staff might want to put the ball in his hands.
Mark Humphrey is a sports writer for the Washington County Enterprise-Leader. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 06/25/2014