Eckwood Plays Above His Age


Tereke Eckwood, right, of Springdale High tries to get past Rogers High’s Brett Gent on Jan. 4 in Springdale.
DRIVING FORCE
Tereke Eckwood, right, of Springdale High tries to get past Rogers High’s Brett Gent on Jan. 4 in Springdale. DRIVING FORCE

— Tereke Eckwood had played less than a dozen games for Springdale High when he made a move that stunned boys basketball coach Brad Stamps.

Alma attempted to fluster the sophomore point guard by having three defenders pressure him. But, as Stamps knows by now, Eckwood has a way of remaining even keel and not getting rattled on the court.

Eckwood made a quick move to beat the three Alma defenders and got out of a tight spot.

“He split all three of them and ended up coming out of it and getting to other end,” Stamps said. “I looked at the bench and was like, ‘Wow!’”

Stamps was impressed with Eckwood after watching him play in junior high school, and it was a no-brainer to make him Springdale’s starting point guard as soon as he arrived on campus.

It didn’t matter that Eckwood is only a sophomore. He has played on the same AAU team as DaShaun Stark and Alex Scharlau, Springdale’s top two scorers, so the transition for Eckwood hasn’t been difficult this season.

“Coming in playing with them, I was used to it,” Eckwood said. “They know what I’m capable of, so that helped me out a lot as they picked me up.”

Eckwood is a pass-first point guard who has the quickness and range to score. That was evident Tuesday night when the 5-foot-9, 155-pound sophomore stole an inbound pass and hit two free throws with 2 minutes, 57 seconds remaining to help Springdale earn a big 57-50 road win at Bentonville.

Eckwood headed into this week averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 assists per game, and Stamps said the Bulldogs (12-7, 4-2 7A/6A-West Conference) are much more efficient offensively with Eckwood running the show.

“When he’s on the floor, he gives everybody else a calming presence,” Stamps said as his team prepared for today’s game against Van Buren inside Bulldog Gymnasium. “He’s just got a gift that kids naturally lean on him and look up to him to provide that leadership spot.

“He’s a kid that’s growing every game.”

Profile

Tereke Eckwood

SCHOOL: Springdale High

CLASS: Sophomore

HEIGHT: 5-9

WEIGHT: 155

NOTABLE: Has assumed Springdale’s starting point guard position, which came open when Tony Dennis graduated last year. ... Headed into this week averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 assists per game, giving the Bulldogs a calm presence to run their offense. ... His brother is former Springdale star Ladarius Eckwood, who’s now a wide receiver at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Of course, it helps that Eckwood comes from a family of talented athletes, including former Springdale star and Arkansas-Pine Bluff wide receiver Ladarius Eckwood.

The younger Eckwood said family pickup basketball games tend to get “very competitive,” with lots of trash talking and plenty of heated tempers.

“It’s always going to turn into a fight if I’m not winning,” Eckwood said with a grin, though he acknowledged that that the games with his brothers have made him a better player.

Eckwood is a gym rat who spends time before and after Springdale’s practices trying to develop a more consistent mid-range jumper and 3-point shot. But Stamps has stressed to the point guard that he sometimes needs to be a bit more selfish and look for his shot instead of passing to his teammates.

Eckwood was relatively quiet offensively in the first half of Springdale’s home game against crosstown rival Springdale Har-Ber on Jan. 15. But after some encouragement from Stamps, Eckwood began attacking the basket in the second half and finished with 19 points in the 71-53 win.

“The first half, I really didn’t shoot that much or look to score,” Eckwood said. “And then Coach Stamps told me that I had to be the baddest one on the floor going into the third quarter. And he told me to look for my shots.”

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