Nearly 19 years later, Ferrell returns as All-Star

Josh Ferrell, who averaged 22.5 points per game for West Fork last season, was a week old when his father, West Fork Coach David Ferrell, was the head coach of the West All-Star team in 1994.
Josh Ferrell, who averaged 22.5 points per game for West Fork last season, was a week old when his father, West Fork Coach David Ferrell, was the head coach of the West All-Star team in 1994.

CONWAY - Josh Ferrell’s first experience with the Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star boys basketball game came when he was only one-week old.

David Ferrell, Josh’s father,was selected as the head coach for the West squad in 1994. Two days before Coach Ferrell was to report to Conway for the start of the all-star week, Josh was born.

That year’s game - like tonight’s contest - was played at the Farris Center on the University of Central Arkansas campus.

“Josh was out by the curb with his two grandmas,” said David Ferrell, who is West Fork’s boys coach. “We didn’t want to bring him in because he was only a few days old. He never entered the gym, but he was 10 feet away.”

During the all-star festivities in 1994, David Ferrell traveled back to West Fork in the middle of the week, jokingly telling a sports writer he “was checking on the starting guard for the 2013 All-Star game.”

Almost 19 years later, the remark is no longer a joke. Josh Ferrell will play for the West in tonight’s contest and David Ferrell will serve as one of the West’s assistant coaches.

“I think it’s a big deal for me to play in the All-Star game,” Josh said. “My dad has been involved in several of these games, and I’ve been to a lot of them.”

Josh Ferrell put up some impressive numbers during his senior year at West Fork. The 5-11 guard scored 751points last season, averaging 22.5 points per game. His 181 steals last season are a state record and his 233 assists have him ranked fifth overall for the most in a season.

The coach’s son also hit 90 three-pointers last season, including one game where he hit a state-record nine three-pointers in one half.

“Getting steals is about anticipation and reflexes,” Josh Ferrell said. “I think that just comes from experience and being around the game as much as I have.”

Josh Ferrell turned in one of his best performances during the Class 3A state tournament, scoring 40 points, handing out 10 assists and making 11 steals in an overtime victory over Drew Central.

“He’s real coachable and he’s always been around [the game],” David Ferrell said. “From birth, he’s been 10 feet from the gym. He’s had access to a gym his whole life. He’s been a gym rat, and not just because he’s been with me. He has his own set of keys to our gym. He’s just literally grown up in a gym and he still loves the game, which I think is awesome.”

Sports, Pages 24 on 06/20/2013

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