BENTONVILLE -- The hotter the 7A-West Conference basketball action has become, so has Jordan Hemphill's performances this season.
The 6-foot-4 senior guard leads Bentonville High's boys in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game over the entire season. However, Hemphill has averaged 17.6 points per contest in conference play, and he's scored 19 or more points the last four games.
At A Glance
Jordan Hemphill
SCHOOL Bentonville High
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 6-4
WEIGHT 180
POSITION Guard
NOTABLE One of three returning starters from last year’s team that reached the Class 7A state championship game. … Has averaged a team-high 12.8 points through the entire season, but has averaged 17.6 points through 7A-West play and has scored 19 or more points in the last four games. … Scored the team’s first 11 points and finished with a team-high 21 in a win over Rogers High. … has drawn recent interest from Elon and North Dakota State.
On The Web
For more on this story, see the video at arpreps.com and nwadg.com
7A-West Conference Basketball Standings
Girls
Team^Conference^Overall
Fayetteville^7-0^20-2
Van Buren^6-1^15-4
Rogers^4-3^12-8
Springdale^4-3^10-10
Bentonville^4-3^11-9
Springdale Har-Ber^3-4^12-8
Bentonville West^1-6^3-16
Rogers Heritage^0-7^6-14
Friday’s Scores
Bentonville 73, Bentonville West 28
Springdale High 58, Rogers High 48
Fayetteville 63, Van Buren 41
Springdale Har-Ber 58, Rogers Heritage 24
Friday’s Games
Fayetteville at Bentonville, 6 p.m.
Rogers High at Springdale Har-Ber, 6 p.m.
Springdale High at Rogers Heritage, 6 p.m.
Bentonvile West at Van Buren, 6 p.m.
Boys
Team^Conference^Overall
Springdale Har-Ber^6-1^15-6
Bentonville^6-1^11-9
Van Buren^5-2^12-8
Rogers Heritage^3-4^11-9
Bentonville West^3-4^10-10
Springdale^3-4^6-13
Fayetteville^2-5^7-12
Rogers^0-7^7-13
Friday’s Scores
Bentonville 54, Bentonville West 41
Springdale High 59, Rogers High 40
Van Buren 60, Fayetteville 46
Springdale Har-Ber 52, Rogers Heritage 38
Friday’s Games
Fayetteville at Bentonville, 7:30 p.m.
Rogers High at Springdale Har-Ber, 7:30 p.m.
Springdale High at Rogers Heritage, 7:30 p.m.
Bentonvile West at Van Buren, 7:30 p.m.
His reason for improvement is two-fold -- there is a sense of urgency, and he's finally healthy.
"This is my last run, so I'm trying to lead and be aggressive," Hemphill said. "It's been a key point for me this season. Between my parents, my coaching staff and myself, we're all trying to get me to do better.
"A lot of it has to do with my mid-range shooting. When people try to sag off of me, I've been trying to knock down the shots and get into a rhythm. Everybody knows I can get to the rim and stuff like that."
Expectations were already high on Hemphill, one of three returning starters from a team that reached the Class 7A state championship last year, and he had already drawn some interest from college teams. That came even before his freak accident in Wichita, Kan., when he broke his tibia while going for an uncontested layup.
He had to wear a straight-leg brace following surgery, and he was confined to a wheelchair for three months. During that time, he did what he could to keep his basketball skills intact -- watching a lot of basketball and attending practices when he could -- but that interest he was shown by those colleges suddenly diminished.
"When he broke his leg, I just hurt for him because he loves to play," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "For a kid to lose that through the whole summer is sad, and I hated that for him.
"I knew he had the character and the family to recover from that. It just took encouragement, but Jordan deserves a lot of credit for that. He had great doctors, and he worked really hard to get himself back. He's now stronger and better after that. The only thing that holds him back is soreness."
Hemphill was ready to play about three weeks before the season started, but he was still a little tentative about his leg through some of the early games. He suffered a small setback when he hurt his back while Bentonville played in Memphis in early December, and it caused him to miss one of those games.
His big turnaround would come later, and it came at the most opportune time -- right before conference play began.
"It was tough getting my timing and rhythm back," Hemphill said. "The more I've played, the more comfortable I've become and getting back to my old self.
"Once we went to Nashville and was able to get away from everything around here, we figured out a lot about our team. At our first game over there, that's when I said I had to pick things up and do this."
His improved play has also brought back interest from some colleges. Hemphill said he's drawn the most interest from schools such as Elon and North Dakota State, and he's confident he will sign with somebody in the spring.
"Jordan is a next-level, college basketball player," McMahan said. "I think there is somebody out there -- and we're starting to talk to some of those teams -- that are looking at a player like him, and they're going to find a great catch in Jordan."
(This video was supplied by Bentonville High School.)
Sports on 02/03/2017