Beyond drawing up a game plan and achieving athletic prowess, coaches desire to impart something of lasting value to their players.
Gentry coach Sean Price came away from the 2014-15 boys basketball season with a sense of satisfaction at what he feels was instilled within senior Brent Barker.
Barker exploded for 27 points to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in a Jan. 27 key 4A-1 Conference victory over Berryville. In that contest, won 53-47 by the Pioneers, all of Barker's points came on field goals. Seven were 3-pointers, including Gentry's first basket on an assist by Blake Boyd after Berryville opened with 4 straight points. Barker was not forcing shots and these were his only points of the first quarter, which ended with Berryville ahead, 14-11.
Barker continued to play within the offense as his teammates kept the Pioneers in the game. He found Matt Julierat for a short shot, helping Gentry battle back to stay within two, 23-21. Tate Ferguson hit a 3-pointer for the Bobcats, but Barker countered with a pair of 2-point field goals, including the last score of the first-half, enabling Gentry to stay close at halftime, 30-27.
Barker began to assert himself from long-range in the third. Twice he hit 3-pointers on assists from Julierat, and another when Wyatt Clark found him open. After three lead changes in the period, Gentry took a 40-38 lead going into the fourth. Barker had 11 of the Pioneers' 13 points in the third. During the final quarter, Barker hit 3 of 4 trifectas, with the last one sending the Pioneers ahead, 49-44.
Barker scored 12 points hitting timely shots against arch-rival Gravette during the District tournament held at Shiloh Christian on Feb. 18. His first bucket was a 3-pointer from the top of the key, starting an 8-0 Pioneer run to pull away from an early 7-6 score. He glided in for a two-handed score off a steal, then again swiped the ball and executed a bounce pass to Ryan Hockenberry for a layup. Clark completed a 7-0 Gentry spurt by making a steal, leading to Hockenberry's 3-pointer and a 27-15 lead.
Gravette cut the lead to 10, at 31-21, on Zac Carleton's trey but, following a timeout called by Price, Barker chipped in to another Gentry run (9-0) by hitting a 3-point shot from the left wing. Gravette kept the margin at 45-32 but, midway through the third, Barker nailed another momentum-building trey when Wally Dane spotted him in the left corner. The basket was part of one more Gentry run (12-5) to close out the quarter, leading comfortably, 57-39.
The Pioneers won 67-53 and, although they were eliminated, 59-48, by Prairie Grove the next day, Price looked back on the season, expressing appreciation for Barker's development, not just on the basketball court, but also in his character.
"Brent Barker, he's special to me. He knows his reasons. I'm very proud of the progress Brent has shown in three years he's been at the high school. He has turned the corner and he's going to be a very successful person in the future," Price said.
Mark Humphrey is a sports writer for the Washington County Enterprise-Leader covering 4A-1 basketball. He may be contacted at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 03/04/2015