Best Basketball Player ever in Arkansas High School?

[Boarmonger]

We've gotten 8 pages deep and I can't believe no one has mentioned Caldwell Jones or either of his brothers.  Big time players out of McGhee.  They always seem to fly under the radar but they were great players.

Edit:I guess it's nine pages deep with this post.

[thirrdegreetusker]

I'm very nostalgic, but could any of these old timers really have a chance of slowing down Monk?

Yes. Several of these Arkansas kids went to the NBA, and made an "all-defense" team or two..........or three....or four..........

[Boarmonger]

Yes. Several of these Arkansas kids went to the NBA, and made an "all-defense" team or two..........or three....or four..........

Super Sid would definitely make him work.  Might even shut him down.  They used to put Sid on Jordan when they played.

[Big Nasty 34]

Super Sid would definitely make him work.  Might even shut him down.  They used to put Sid on Jordan when they played.

I agree with Sidney, but a lot of these guys wouldn't have a chance. They were studs I'm sure, but a lot of the names were just really good small school players

[Cinco de Hogo]

Has anyone even mentioned Scottie Pippen?  Yes I know he blew up after HS but seriously he's top 50 all time in the NBA.  How can you blow up that much?  Or was he seriously overlooked?

[thirrdegreetusker]

I'm very nostalgic, but could any of these old timers really have a chance of slowing down Monk?

..........or, on the other hand, could Malik slow them down?

Reality is that, in high school, the go-to scoring guy is hardly ever given the toughest assignment on D. Why tire out your top scorer?

[98hogs]

Corliss  period

[joeyself]

I keep seeing comments about Monk, and it reminded me of this thread from years ago.  Fun to read back through it.

Ooops, should have read to the end--I see it was active a few months ago.

JcS

[MountieDawg]

Does anyone remember the Hogs had a recruit play in the McDonald's AA game in 1992. 1993, 1994, and 1995...

[cypert2]

I'm very nostalgic, but could any of these old timers really have a chance of slowing down Monk?

A football player from Cabot didn't have much trouble slowing down Monk a couple of days ago.

[Torqued pork]

Robert Till Griffin Little Rock Central 1975 wore Hall and Sidney out.

Chris Bennett Little Rock Catholic
Almer Lee Fort smith Northside
Dexter Reed Little Rock Parkview
Keith Lee West Memphis

Chris Bennett came out the same year as Sidney and was actually the more highly regarded of the two.

[eagle1]

Morris Mathis from St. Joe in the 50's. Still holds the State record with 108 points in a game.

[IronMountainHog]

A football player from Cabot didn't have much trouble slowing down Monk a couple of days ago.

Boom

[IronMountainHog]

I knew this guy who was an average basketball player until you pissed him off. When that happened, he became a werewolf and dominated the hardwood. I think he played for LR Mills or Parkview?  No wait, that was Teen Wolf with Micheal J. Fox pre Parkinson's. Carry on.

[zebradynasty]

Has anyone even mentioned Scottie Pippen?  Yes I know he blew up after HS but seriously he's top 50 all time in the NBA.  How can you blow up that much?  Or was he seriously overlooked?

Yes he did blow up that much. Pippen was an average high school player. He wasn't even the best player on his team in high school. The only school interested in him (not really they wanted his teamate who's name I can't recall) was UCA and he basically walked on at UCA as freshman. Grew 7 inches and the rest....

[tennesseehogwild]

Boothead would have to be up there. I was young, but he was awesome.

Guarded Willie one game. If I can guard him, he does not qualify.

Played against Cutts, Brad Goshen, and Co. 3 times my Sr year. He was clutch as I ever saw. Nailed us with late shots both times in Conference play, but we got em at the buzzer in the '82 AAAA Semi's...

[bvillepig]

and I was in the stands not far away from that block.

I was there also about 10 rows up on the left wing.  Great game.

My five that I saw play in high school.
Corliss, Keith Lee, Michael Cage, Sidney, and Brewer Sr.   

[razorkev]

Fizzled in college?

He led Memphis St in scoring for four years. Took them to the final four his senior year.

First round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Cavs, but blew his ACL his rookie year. Back then they couldn't fix you after you blew an ACL so his career ended there. Otherwise, everyone here would know who he was.

The best team ever wouldn't have been that Parkview bunch, it would have been Lee and Cage at West Memphis. They only ever lost 1 game.

During the 79/80....80/81 years...Big Blue went 80-0..That was Cage's Sr year 79/80 and Lee's Jr&Sr year..No High School team can match the talent of that 1980 team..Who was the best player?..Both were highly recruited and very good.

[tennesseehogwild]

During the 79/80....80/81 years...Big Blue went 80-0..That was Cage's Sr year 79/80 and Lee's Jr&Sr year..No High School team can match the talent of that 1980 team..Who was the best player?..Both were highly recruited and very good.

Also had another 6'5" kid, Aaron Price, I think was his name...Believe he went D1 also.

[snoblind]

Didn't go back through the thread so I probably already posted this, but the best ever high school I saw was when Dexter Reed was a senior at Parkview and came to Northside when Brewer, Sr was a junior.  Those 2 took the game over and it turned into a one on one duel.  IIRC, Northside won so I guess one has to give the nod to Boothead.  Game was in the high 90's and there was no 3 point line in those days.

I was in 8th grade and in awe of the show they put on. 

[bphi11ips]

Basil Shabazz

[WilsonHog]

Didn't go back through the thread so I probably already posted this, but the best ever high school I saw was when Dexter Reed was a senior at Parkview and came to Northside when Brewer, Sr was a junior.  Those 2 took the game over and it turned into a one on one duel.  IIRC, Northside won so I guess one has to give the nod to Boothead.  Game was in the high 90's and there was no 3 point line in those days.

I was in 8th grade and in awe of the show they put on.

I had forgotten about Dexter Reed.

I was a Memphis State fan before I knew anything about Razorback basketball. First college game I ever saw was the Tigers and Drake in the old Mid-South Coliseum. Larry Kenon, Larry Finch, Bill Cook, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Laurie. That was back in the days of three TV stations. The Tiger games were always tape delayed on WKNO at 10:30 on Saturday night.

Good times.

[SuperSid4Ever]

During the 79/80....80/81 years...Big Blue went 80-0..That was Cage's Sr year 79/80 and Lee's Jr&Sr year..No High School team can match the talent of that 1980 team..Who was the best player?..Both were highly recruited and very good.

I have always wondered if Sutton spent a bit too much time recruiting Lee and lost Cage in the process. Cage was a monster.

[snoblind]

I had forgotten about Dexter Reed.

I was a Memphis State fan before I knew anything about Razorback basketball. First college game I ever saw was the Tigers and Drake in the old Mid-South Coliseum. Larry Kenon, Larry Finch, Bill Cook, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Laurie. That was back in the days of three TV stations. The Tiger games were always tape delayed on WKNO at 10:30 on Saturday night.

Good times.

He could play.  Growing up in Fort Smith and then going to the UofA, Delph, Brewer, and Moncrief were my favorites.  But Dexter was right there with them.  Out of curiosity I googled him and this thread was on the first page.

[bvillepig]

I have always wondered if Sutton spent a bit too much time recruiting Lee and lost Cage in the process. Cage was a monster.

I remember an interview with Sutton on why he did not recruit Cage.   He felt like he already had a player of that type in Carey Kelley. 

[SuperSid4Ever]

I remember an interview with Sutton on why he did not recruit Cage.   He felt like he already had a player of that type in Carey Kelley.

He and Carey would have been great opposite each other on the team.  Having Cage at that time would have set up nicely with Scott Hastings and later on, with Joe Kleine.

[farfromgroovins]

Basil Shabazz

The Chuck Norris of Arkansas sports

[texas tush hog]

Sidney Moncrife, Joe Johnson, Ail Thomson

Sidney Moncrief and it is was not even close, but as far as success it had to be Corliss.

When you are forever refering to anyone by one name it's telling.

[Cinco de Hogo]

I'll stick with Corliss, no one in Arkansas had ever seen a 14 year old man before. 

Girls, I'll go with my sister from the old 3 on 3 days.  Avg 30+ a game, could shoot from any position and she started a sports dynasty of state championship players, boys and girls with more still coming.

No names to protect the innocent!

[root_hawg]

I think it is a close race between Sidney, Corliss and Malik.  I would start a team with any of the three in their prime. 

[Inhogswetrust]

I have always wondered if Sutton spent a bit too much time recruiting Lee and lost Cage in the process. Cage was a monster.

That's not exactly how it went down but if he had recruited Cage more heavily he might have gotten them both. But there was a real danger of losing Lee to Memphis anyway it happened even if Cage had been a Hog................................

[MICHAELSPAPPY]

Almer Lee

[urkillnmesmalls]

Basil Shabazz

Did he even play BB?  If he did, that wouldn't be fair.  He'd just alley-oop it to himself from half court.  He was almost as fast as that Tanner English kid from SC's baseball team a few years back.  He could hit line drives up the middle and hit himself in the head sliding into second.     

[MICHAELSPAPPY]

  He could hit line drives up the middle and hit himself in the head sliding into second.     

But he couldn't hit a curve ball. At least not well enough. Too bad, because he was indeed talented.

[SuperSid4Ever]

That's not exactly how it went down but if he had recruited Cage more heavily he might have gotten them both. But there was a real danger of losing Lee to Memphis anyway it happened even if Cage had been a Hog................................

I really think Lee was swayed by being able to stay closer to home.  Cage would have made for a formidable group of forwards and centers, transitioning from the Hastings years to the Kleine years.  That's just one man's opinion, though.

Made me sick to see his stats in the Democrat on a regular basis.

[CallMeAl]

That's not exactly how it went down but if he had recruited Cage more heavily he might have gotten them both. But there was a real danger of losing Lee to Memphis anyway it happened even if Cage had been a Hog................................

Cage wanted to be a Hog. His dad wanted him at Tiger High. He went to San Diego State to get away.

[(notOM)Rebel123]

I had forgotten about Dexter Reed.

I was a Memphis State fan before I knew anything about Razorback basketball. First college game I ever saw was the Tigers and Drake in the old Mid-South Coliseum. Larry Kenon, Larry Finch, Bill Cook, Ronnie Robinson, Bill Laurie. That was back in the days of three TV stations. The Tiger games were always tape delayed on WKNO at 10:30 on Saturday night.

Good times.

Good times, indeed. Big Jack Eaton, the "voice" of the Tigers. Big Jack had a nickname for most of those guys..."Dead-Eye" Dexter Reed, Billy "The Kid" Cook. Was Larry Kenon the "Elevator"? That 72-73 team made it to the NCAA title game under Gene Bartow & lost to Bill Walton & UCLA.
Wilson, you brought back some good memories of growing up in NEA.

[1highhog]

Corliss Williamson

rated the #1 player in the country
I am certain Jason Kidd was rated ahead of Corliss. Kidd's team (from the Bay Area in Cali) won the King Cotton tournament that year and beat Corliss, too.




Wrong.  Russellville won that game and Corliss blocked a last second shot by Kidd to win or tie the game.

Not sure which player was rated higher

I was there at that game, Corliss and Russellville won that game, winning the Tournament.  It was next year when Russellville made it to the finals again that Russellville was down and Corliss could have won the game in the last seconds but his short jumper missed.

[1highhog]

My vote for best basketball player ever to come out of the State would be a tie between two teammates, Sidney and Ron Brewer.  Both were great on the defensive side of the ball as well as offensive side.  At their height, they usually could guard much taller players and keep them in check plus score on them as well.  Even though Corliss was a dominant force in high school and College, both Sid and Ron were better all around players, and they were better than Joe Johnson as well.  Johnson has had a great NBA career, but mostly as an offensive player only, his defense has always been a liability.  Sidney, for as short as he was could score, defend, rebound, make steals, he was the total player.  If not for his injury, he would have been a first ballot hall of famer.

[root_hawg]

In the end, its all opinion and nobody can prove one way or the other....

[urkillnmesmalls]

These discussions are great.  It's like trying to argue who was the best HS football player ever.  TOTALLY subjective, but the one thing that stays consistent is that people always evaluate based on what they did AFTER HS, when the goal would be to just imagine that they never played another second after their last time on a HS court/field. 

Very few of us have seen enough different players play enough HS games to really know who was the best.  A LOT of that is also determined by the supporting cast that they had around them while they played.

I couldn't even venture a guess at who was the best, because I didn't see most of the kids listed play.  But what's interesting is that if you're going by national accolades, then it would be Williamson who had major impact after HS.  But...if you were going by national accolades in football, it would be Mustain, who never made much impact after HS. 

Obviously...it's not an exact science.  If the question was best player from Arkansas....I'd go Sidney Moncrief.  If it is best HS player, then I can't say...because I didn't see him play.  I saw Corliss play, and he was a BEAST in HS to the point that it wasn't really fair.  Man child.   

[bob slydell]

Joe Harvell was a pretty dominant player in the 80s. His Gosnell Pirates had one of the best collections of talent on one HS team. Especially given they were a little 2A school at the time.

[hvsupastar]

James Anderson
Malik Monk
Joe Johnson
Ronnie Brewer
Corliss Williamson

Would be my starting 5 and I'd beat any body.

[bigpigonthehill]

How about Scotty Pippin? He was from Arkansas right?

[urkillnmesmalls]

How about Scotty Pippin? He was from Arkansas right?

Yes, and he played for Hamburg.  He was a WALK ON at UCA.  Yes, a walk-on, and it wasn't because he was from a small school and overlooked.  He was a late bloomer.  I can't remember how much he grew even after leaving HS, but it was pretty nuts.  That's what made him an elite player...he spent countless hours working on ball handling skills as a guard, grew about 6 inches, and that translated into being very difficult to defend in the NBA at his height. 

Also, if you saw him play in college his Sr. year, it was obvious he was the best player on the court.  BUT...he didn't always put up big numbers, because teams knew how good he was so they double and triple teamed him.  I'm not sure how many people thought he would tear up the NBA like he did, but it wasn't many. 

[LittleRockHog2120]

Keith Lee  West Memphis 1981

[ShadowHawg]

James Anderson
Malik Monk
Joe Johnson
Ronnie Brewer
Corliss Williamson

Would be my starting 5 and I'd beat any body.

I would take Sid, Brewer, Delph, Keith Lee and Michael Cage and destroy you!

By the way, my daddy can whip your daddy too!

[cypert2]

I would take Sid, Brewer, Delph, Keith Lee and Michael Cage and destroy you!

By the way, my daddy can whip your daddy too!

Yep. Right now Malik Monk is someone that went 0-10 from the three point line in the biggest game of his career.

[Karma]

Has anyone said Bazzel Shabazz?

[MountieDawg]

Keith Lee was pursuaded more by a shoe box full of cash!!!   I grew up just outside of Memphis and those old Memphis State teams were fun!