The Paris News

Outside of winning a state championship, there's not much more Courtney Jackson could have done during his four-year career with the Paris Wildcats.

Jackson started all four seasons and led the Wildcats to three consecutive district titles in his final three years.

His achievements on the court this year earned him Most Valuable Player honors in the Red River Valley, about the only thing that has eluded the Wildcats' 6-foot-7 forward, who will play for the University of Arkansas-Little Rock next year.

For Jackson, the MVP award was his for the winning, or losing, and he didn't disappoint, earning the award in unanimous fashion after leading Paris High to a perfect 10-0 record in District 11-4A and a 27-7 season record. The Wildcats lost in the area round of the playoffs to Highland Park.

Jackson averaged 23 points, 15 rebounds, two steals, three blocks, and two assists a game this season, and averaged double-doubles in scoring and rebounding all four years of his high school career.

He was RRV Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and was a first-team selection as a sophomore and junior. Last year he was runner-up in the MVP voting in the RRV.

He was also named to the TABC All-State Team and will play in the TABC all-star game in May.

Jackson's best chance at winning a state championship came during his sophomore season when the Wildcats lost to eventual state champs South Oak Cliff in the Region 2 semifinals. The last two seasons they have lost in the area round.

Wildcat sophomore Kendall King was named Newcomer of the Year after starting this season at point guard, averaging seven points, two steals, three assists and two rebounds a game.

Detroit coach Steve Drummond was named Coach of the Year after his Eagles grabbed the District 17-A championship, a year after finishing fifth in district.

And the Eagles did it with a lot of sophomore talent.

"We started three sophomores in 90 percent of our games this year," Drummond said."It's always nice to know you have something coming back."

Drummond does lose senior Tyler Jones, who led the Eagles in scoring, averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds a game. But Detroit brings back junior Lane Golden, who averaged seven points and nine rebounds and was perhaps one of the toughest defensive players in the RRV despite being only 5-9.

Both Jones and Golden were first team selections on the RRV team.

Drummond said his Eagles' success this year was mainly due to team chemistry.

"These kids put in a lot of hard work and they listened very well and played hard. They also really cared about each other," he said.

Drummond has a history of building quality teams. Prior to coming to Detroit two years ago, he spent 14 years at North Hopkins, helping the Panthers to the playoffs 13 of those years. He has compiled a 346-119 record in 16 years as a head coach.

Detroit lost in the area round of the Class A playoffs to LaPoyner.

Paris High's Keon Furtch was the Wildcats' second leading scorer this year. Furtch, heading to Texas A&M on a football scholarship, averaged 17 points, six rebounds, three steals and 2.5 assists per game.

Clarksville, which won the District 15-2A title, placed two players on the first team in senior post Ricky Roberts, who was runner-up in the MVP voting, and junior DeCarlos Williams.

Roberts averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds a game, while Williams averaged 14 points and 3.5 assists a game. The Tigers advanced to the playoffs as the No. 1 seed from District 15-2A after finishing tied with Chapel Hill for the district title (both with 13-1 records). The Tigers beat the Red Devils to earn the top seed.

North Lamar also placed two players on the first team in senior point guard Justin Collard, and senior forward Qualon Fort. Collard averaged 15 points, six assists and two steals, while Fort averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

North Lamar started strong in District 11-4A, but ended up 4-5 in league play and 16-12 overall under first-year head coach Homer Garner.

Rivercrest, which finished third in District 15-2A, had one on the first team in Logan Taylor, a junior. Prairiland's Ryan Ford and Honey Grove's Cody Battle round out the first team selections.

The RRV second-team also was filled with talent, as Paris High placed two players on the team in junior Roro Barr and sophomore Equettis Jenkins.

Clarksville also had two players on the second team in sophomore Demontre Scales and senior Darrien Smith. Rivercrest's Dereck Gallander and Ty Brown were two more second team selections from District 15-2A.

North Lamar's Patrick Thomas, Cooper's Samuel Hollenshead, and Chisum's Jeremy Eddington and Prairiland's Landon Syrus round out the RRV second team.

Most Valuable Player

Courtney Jackson, Paris , sr.

Newcomer of the Year

Kendall King, Paris, soph.

Coach of the Year

Steve Drummond, Detroit

First Team

Keon Furtch, Paris High, sr.

Justin Collard, North Lamar, sr.

Qualon Fort, North Lamar, sr.

Ricky Roberts, Clarksville, sr.

DeCarlos Williams, Clarksville, jr.

Tyler Jones, Detroit, sr.

Logan Taylor, Rivercrest, jr.

Ryan Ford, Prairiland, jr.

Lane Golden, Detroit, jr.

Cody Battle, Honey Grove, sr.

Second Team

Roro Barr, Paris High, jr.

Equettis Jenkins, Paris High, soph.

Patrick Thomas, North Lamar, jr.

Jeremy Eddington, Chisum, soph.

Demontre Scales, Clarksville, soph.

Ty Brown, Rivercrest, jr.

Dereck Gallander, Rivercrest, sr.

Darrien Smith, Clarksville, sr.

Landon Syrus, Prairiland, sr.

Samuel Hollenshead, Cooper, sr.

Honorable Mention

Hawk Hawkins, North Lamar, jr.

La'Drectus Gray, Paris High, sr.

Kolt Thompson, Chisum, sr.

Montario Earls, Roxton, jr.

Julian Brown, Cooper, soph.

K.J. Finney, Honey Grove, jr.

Zak Patt, Honey Grove, soph.

Christian Elliott, Prairiland, jr.

Terrance Cannon, Rivercrest, jr.

Matthew Haynes, Rivercrest, jr.

Deon Patt, Detroit, soph.

Chaz Dickerson, Detroit, soph.

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