Arkansas combination guard signee Jimmy Whitt has increased his scoring and his leadership during the first part of his senior season.
Whitt, 6-2, 170, of Columbia (Mo.) Hickman, is averaging 31 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals per game while shooting 66 percent from the field and leading the Kewpies to an 8-0 record.
He averaged 22.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 4.4 steals and 1.4 blocks a game as a junior and led a senior-laden team to a 27-3 record and the Missouri Class 5 state title game
"Jimmy obviously didn't have to score as much," Hickman Coach David Johnson said.
ESPN ranks Whitt as the No. 68 prospect overall, No. 1 overall in Missouri and the ninth-rated guard overall.
"This year he's really expected to take on that leadership role he has to be more of a scorer, which he can do very well," Johnson said. "He's taken his game to a whole different level. Gradually, from his freshmen year even to now his points per game have increased."
One area of improvement has been Whitt's aggressiveness in the lane.
"He's attacking the basket relentless right now really finishing at the basket more so than I've seen him do in the past two years," Johnson said. "His three point shot has gotten much better too."
Johnson said Whitt's leadership skills elevated after taking part in the USA basketball Men's junior national team minicamp in Oct.
"I noticed a huge difference in the way he was interacting with me and the team," Johnson said. "He came and told me "Coach, I learned so much about leadership and what you have to do. I told him, 'Yeah, I could sense that from you Jimmy.' He really took it on during our preseason. He's one of the hardest workers as far as getting after it and hitting the weights hard, conditioning hard."
Whitt was undercut while going up for a dunk and and landed on his right hand about three weeks ago. He's been playing hurt since.
"That's kind of affected his range of motion," Johnson said. "I can tell it's obviously bothering him. His mental toughness is really starting to take over."
Whitt still scored 21 points in Hickman's 51-49 victory over Jefferson City on Thursday
"He didn't have one of his best games and that was because of his hand," Johnson said. "He wasn't finishing like he normally was, his shot wasn't falling. Jimmy shoots well over 60 percent for us for the field and he didn't have one of those outstanding shooting games."
A small fracture is possible and an MRI appears to be the next step in trying to learn the extent of the injury. Johnson said Whitt's toughness can be traced back to his freshman year while playing in a tournament.
"He busted his tooth on someone's head or something and he came to the bench and he was bleeding," Johnson said. "He goes back out and finishes the game. The next day they realize he needs to get a root canal. He gets a root canal the next day when we have a game and gets his root canal done and travels two hours east to play against a tough team and he comes out and scores 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals like it wasn't anything."
HOT-SHOT PROSPECT
Pulaski Academy junior guard Lawson Korita put on a show at the Holiday Hoops Invitational at North Little Rock high school on Saturday.
He led the Bruins to a 66-40 victory over Little Rock Christian with 31 points by hitting 8 of 9 three-pointers in front of Arkansas associate head coach Melvin Watkins.
"I could've done better on the defensive side and getting my teammates more involved, but I shot the ball pretty well," Korita said.
Korita, 6-4, 190 was named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's All-Arkansas Preps sophomore team after averaging 26.5 points while shooting 51 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the three-point line.
He said he communicates with the Hogs about two, three times a week.
He reports scholarship offers from Arkansas-Little Rock and Central Arkansas while drawing interest from Arkansas, Southern Miss, Wake Forest, Memphis, Wichita State, Creighton and Lehigh.
"They like how I'm an all-round player, and they like how I get after it on defense," Korita said of Arkansas. "They like my hustle. They said I try and go a 110 percent."
Korita is a frequent visitor to Fayetteville to see an older brother who is a student at Arkansas.
"I think I went two years ago for the Kentucky game and really liked the atmosphere, the fans, the gym is nice," Korita said. "I just like Arkansas. It's my home state."
His work ethic has helped him become an outstanding shooter.
"I try to shot 500 to 700," Korita said. "Outside about 500 and inside I just do as many as I can."
E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com
Sports on 12/23/2014