NHS trio ink to play for SouthArk

By Staff, 04/7/21 2:58 PM

ROSSTON – A trio of Nevada Blue Jays signed letters of intent to play basketball at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado for the next two years.

The three, Jared Todd, Javontae Pearson and Dontavious Watts, all signed in a ceremony held in the Nevada gym Wednesday afternoon with the student body looking on. Nevada Superintendent Rick McAfee said all three were 4.0 gpa students.

Pearson, a point guard, averaged 14 points per game (ppg), and five steals per game. He plans on studying business at SouthArk.

Todd, a power forward, averaged 15 ppg this season with six rebounds. He is undecided as to what he will study.

Watts, the team’s small forward, averaged 12 ppg over the season and pulled down nine boards per game. He, too, is undecided.

Nate Davis, SouthArk head coach, said he coached against these players when he was the coach at Hermitage and knew he wanted them when he was named head coach of the Stars. He said players in south Arkansas are overlooked when it comes to college recruiting and this needs to be changed. By signing the three, Davis is giving them a chance to show what they can do at the post-secondary level. “The sky’s the limit for them.”

Bobby Mullins, their head coach at Nevada, said this was a special day with three athletes taking another step on their journey in life. He pointed out Davis has watched these young men since they were freshmen at NHS and wanted to sign as many as he could. These three, he continued, excelled on the court, won several championships, including a state title due to the support they received from the Nevada community. “They’ll do great things in life,” he said. They’re like part of my family.”