NORTHSIDE COACH REFLECTS ON TITLE

For nearly four months now, members of the Northside Grizzlies’ basketball team are still basking in the afterglow of the Grizzlies’ 7A state championship win. In that span, since Northside’s 50-49 win against North Little Rock on March 11 for the 7A title, coach Eric Burnett and the Grizzlies have been honored by the city of Fort Smith and have been feted by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. They also picked up some extra hardware on the postseason banquet circuit, notably the Best of River Valley Preps banquet last month, when Burnett was named the Jim Rowland Coach of the Year while the Grizzlies were named the Team of the Year. But even though Burnett is still enjoying the Grizzlies’ title, at the same time, he is turning the page. Northside faces a major overhaul of its roster for the 2017-18 season. Burnett must replace four starters from the championship team, although the Grizzlies do bring back senior shooting guard Isaiah Joe, a University of Arkansas commit. Recently, Burnett talked about the celebration of the 7A championship along with looking ahead to next season in a Q&A session: Q: Since winning state, what has it been like for you? Does it still feel unbelievable that Northside won the state championship? A: Yes, I’m still floating on cloud 10, sometimes on 11. It’s been very exciting for me and the kids. We got to go to the state capitol, we were recognized by several organizations in the community, but ever since we won, it’s been a busy three months but it’s been a really good busy three months, of being able to let everybody know and having the opportunity for me to brag on these kids to everybody I get in front of. It’s because I’m one of those coaches who realize that if I don’t have the players, the horses to get out there and make plays, then there’s no state championship for coach Burnett. It’s those guys, and at the end of the (7A title) game, I told them, ‘Thanks for the ride,’ because toward the end of the year, I just kind of let them take me on a ride because they were making all of the decisions, and so it’s been a great, great three months. Q: Of all the things you got to do after winning state, what do you think is the most surprising request that you and the team’s had in terms of being honored for the championship? A: The most surprising one was the (Best of River Valley Preps) banquet that we had here (at the Fort Smith Convention Center) on June 1. I didn’t know that the team was going to get all those awards and I definitely didn’t know that I was going to get all those awards (Burnett was also named the Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year). It was a great honor to be able to get the Jim Rowland Award (named after the former long-time Fort Smith Public Schools athletics director), because he’s a guy that hired me to coach here (in 2010), and he gave me my first opportunity to coach when I was 28 years old at the highest level of the state of Arkansas (at Southside), and he’s the one that’s a mentor for me. Any time I’ve got any questions about anything, I would go to him for advice. Even when I was in Springdale (as coach at Har-Ber), I needed to talk to him and he was always there for me, and for me to be able to receive that award, the Jim Rowland Award, I was really honored that night. ... I can also tell you that me and the whole team and the coaching staff, we walked away very excited about what happened that night. Q: What else has these last three-plus months been like for you? A: Well, the school board recognized us, and that was a really big honor. The city of Fort Smith, the mayor (Sandy Sanders) recognized us at one of the board meetings, and it was really an honor to get to go to the state capitol because the governor’s a really busy guy, and he took time out to come in and spend, I would probably say 30 or 40 minutes with the kids. He took them into his office and visited with them, and so I was very appreciative of the time that he took out because I know he’s a busy man. ... He actually called a couple of (the players) back and visited with them one-on-one a little bit, so that was good, too. Q: You also had your camp (the Grizzlies’ annual camp for children) last month. I’m sure there were a lot of kids that wanted to sign up for the camp because they wanted to meet the players that won state. A: Yes, that’s true. After the first day of camp, they wanted to take some pictures with a couple of (the players), and that’s what the camp is all about, to build that relationship with those kids because some of those kids come to all of our basketball games, and to present an opportunity to sit down and talk with them or take a picture with them, that’s great and to me, that’s what it’s all about, to build a relationship with those kids and that we appreciate them coming out and watching us play.

NORTHSIDE COACH REFLECTS ON TITLE

BUCK RINGGOLD

Times Record | 7/2/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Buck Ringgold