FAYETTEVILLE — Eric Burnett recalls a time when opposing teams in Fort Smith Northside’s own conference laughed at the state of the Grizzlies’ boys basketball program.
Of late, however, it has often been Burnett and Northside that have gotten the last laugh, winning a pair of state championships in the previous four seasons. The Grizzlies defeated North Little Rock 50-49 in 2017 and handed Bryant a 44-41 loss in 2019.
The commonalities in those teams? They featured future Razorbacks in Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams. In recent years, Northside, one of the state's most storied programs with 11 state championships, has been a hotbed for basketball talent.
Northside’s 2017 title team also included current Florida International point guard Tevin Brewer and shooting guard Tre Norwood, who signed to play football at Oklahoma.
“I just think that we are beginning to produce some really good athletes out of Fort Smith,” said Burnett, a Northside graduate. “I think we’ve always had them in Fort Smith, it’s just we have tried to put them up against some of the best across the state now and they’re performing really well against them. I think that’s bringing a lot of attention to Fort Smith, especially Northside, for us to be able to compete with these people and compete with them.
“When you win and you’ve got players like Isaiah, Tevin and Jaylin, that brings attention to Fort Smith. Those guys have performed really well, and it’s really good for Fort Smith and the community.”
It has also been a positive for Razorbacks men’s basketball. Joe, the No. 2 player in the state of Arkansas in the class of 2018, set a single-season program record for 3-pointers made in his first year on campus.
He then made 94 3s in 2019-20 despite missing six games due to a knee injury and finished second on the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game.
Williams, the 2020 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year, joins the Razorbacks with plenty of expectation, too. He is considered the No. 1 player in Arkansas by 247 Sports and the No. 9 center in the country, according to Rivals.
Burnett said both players truly bought in to becoming team-first guys and leaders for him.
“If I asked them to stay and do an extra 30 minutes on the ball machine, they would just get it done,” he added. “If I said, ‘You’ve got to get stronger to help in a certain area,’ they were going to get it done. They never questioned me. You have the talent we’ve had in the last 3-4 years, I just had some players that have been really good.
“It’s been fun to coach those guys. I haven’t had to really draw up too many plays. Basically just put the ball in those guys’ hands and let them play, and it looks like I did something. But those guys can just play.”
Northside girls basketball coach Rickey Smith is no stranger to sending the Lady Bears’ talent to Arkansas, either. Including the recently committed Jersey Wolfenbarger, he says he has had four girls play for the Razorbacks - Redd Coleman, Shanita Arnold, Kendra Roberts.
Asked why he believes the school has produced a good deal of high-level players over the years, several of which played at Arkansas, Smith said success breeds success.
“Our kids have been winning on the court and with that success they want to work a little bit harder,” added Smith, who has won seven state titles at Northside over 26 years. “Then the younger kids see it and they want to work harder. (Those who went to Arkansas) were all really, really good players and the best in the state at the time.”
Traveling with the likes of Wolfenbarger and Williams last season was unique, Smith said. Northside’s girls and boys teams were defending state champions and basketball fans came out in droves to get a glimpse of Wolfenbarger and Williams.
Prior to last season, Smith also encouraged the Fort Smith community to support the programs’ local talent, and they responded.
“They packed it out because you’re watching both teams and both teams have Gatorade players of the year and several other Division-I players,” he noted. “I knew it was a special time.
“We’ve been very lucky - Coach Burnett and myself - to be able to have quality, quality players and even better people. I don’t take it for granted. That’s why I’ve been here 26 years.”