LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson offered a scholarship to former Searcy standout Jamal Jones last week and the highly sought junior college guard said the offer was a dream come true.
Jones, 6-8, 190 pounds of Lee College in Baytown, Texas, reports having about 10 scholarship offers but has narrowed his list to Arkansas, Texas A&aM, Oregon, TCU and San Diego State.
“He just told me they could really use me,” Jones said of Anderson. “They really don’t have a player like me. Once he told me it was like a dream come true because everybody from Arkansas always dreams of playing for Arkansas. But now I’m in a different situation because I have other schools recruiting me too, but I’m definitely interested and I’m excited about it also.”
Jones, who was an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette second-team selection as a senior,signed with Ole Miss in 2010 during the early signing period, but was dismissed after a violation of team rules in January 2012. He said he’s grown since his days at Oxford.
“I had my high school ways going into my freshman year at Ole Miss and I had my high school mind-set,” Jones said. “After that incident, reality hit me. I had to sit back and really mature and think about everything and I realized this was my last chance to really make a name for myself and do something.”
He said Anderson, associate head coach Melvin Watkins and assistant coach T.J.Cleveland visited his school on Monday.
“He sees me as a one, two, three and a four,” Jones said of Anderson. “He just said I’m a basketball player. That’s my position.”
Jones averaged 18 points, 5.3 rebounds and shooting 34.8 percent from beyond the three-point line this past season. He said he plans to take three official visits and the Razorbacks will be one of them.
“We haven’t set up a date yet,” Jones said of the Hogs. “But I’m going to start taking them [visits] April the 11th.”
While at Searcy, Jones showed a good all-round game, but he’s advanced his skills since his days as a Lion.
“My game changed a lot, I’ve got better in my ball handling and all-around game,” Jones said. “I’ve become a better scorer. I’m more of a guard-type scorer now.”
JACKSON TO SIGN IN SPRING
When highly recruited forward Jessica Jackson didn’t sign with Arkansas after committing to the Hogs during the summer, Razorback fans expressed concern. Now they can breathe easier as Jackson revealed she plans to sign with the Hogs during the spring signing period, which begins April 17.
Jackson, 6-2 of Jacksonville, is considered one of the top prospects in the nation and is rated the No. 14 recruitin the country by Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report. Staying in-state was a big factor for her deciding to ink with the Hogs.
“Staying at home is better,” Jackson said. “You can be a really good player and go to a different state and playing isn’t the same as playing in your home state.”
She praised Coach Tom Collen and his staff for not pressuring her to sign during the early signing period in November.
“They didn’t get mad or put pressure on me like you need to sign or anything like that,” Jackson said. “They kept cool and respected my decision about not signing early.”
Jackson will play in the 22nd annual WBCA High School All-America game on April 6, at the New Orleans Arena, site of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
SOPHOMORE NO STRANGER
Tight end and defensive end Hale Hentges, one of Missouri’s top sophomore prospects, visited Arkansas on Thursday, but he’s no stranger to the Hogs and Razorbacks Coach Bret Bielema.
Hentges, 6-4, 220, 4.83 seconds in the 40-yard dash,of Jefferson City, Mo., has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, and Iowa State. He visited Wisconsin twice last year while Bielema was in Madison and Arkansas once last spring.
“We met Coach Bielema twice when he was at Wisconsin and really enjoyed our visits with him,” said Hentges’ father Chris, who’s the head coach at Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City. “He’s just a really genuine person. Down-to-earth and made us feel really comfortable and very at ease when we were with him.”
Hale Hentges said the distance from home, the SEC and the style of play has him interested in Arkansas.
“They [the Razorbacks] are not too far from home, which is a big plus,” he said. “I like how they’re in the SEC. Everyone always said the SEC has the best competition and I think that’s true. I like their style of offense. I think [that] relates well to my position and I like how physical they are, too. They really get after it.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]
Sports, Pages 23 on 03/29/2013