Sign up for an annual HawgBeat subscription and get $50 for Arkansas gear on the Rivals Fan Shop ––> details
College Students, get a year of HawgBeat coverage for just $11.95. Request details via email from your school account (.edu) to nchavanelle@yahoo.com.
Rickey Smith has seen a lot of talented players during his 26 years as Fort Smith Northside’s head girl’s basketball coach.
In addition to winning more than 600 games and seven titles in the state’s highest classification, the veteran coach has also worked at the Nike Skills Academy and coached in last year’s Jordan Brand Classic.
Players from his program at Northside have gone on to play in the SEC and his roster at the prestigious all-star game featured the three freshman starters for No. 1 South Carolina this season, but Jersey Wolfenbarger - who committed to Arkansas on Monday - stands out above them all.
“I’ve seen the best players in America and she’s on that level,” Smith said. “She still hasn’t even reached her potential. One of the best players in the history of the state and quite possibly, could be the best player to ever come out, if she continues to improve.
“She’s a once-in-a-generation type player. She’s a Corliss, a Kobe, a LeBron, a Serena, a Tiger and a Jersey. She’s special.”
Wolfenbarger’s announcement ended what was a two-year recruitment by the Razorbacks that Smith described as very detailed. He was complimentary of how head coach Mike Neighbors laid out which coaches would be seeing her in the maximum visits allowed by the NCAA.
The coaching staff followed that plan and was at all of Northside’s big games. Ultimately, the simple act of being her first offer proved to be huge for Arkansas, as Wolfenbarger even mentioned it in her commitment post on Twitter.
“He offered her April 4 at the end of her freshman year and she was still basically a runt at that time,” Smith said. “It was one of those deals where Mike and I have been friends for a long time and I kind of encouraged it and told him what the future looked like, (but) he’s no dummy - he knew what she looked like.”
Smith has known Neighbors for more than two decades, dating back to when the Arkansas coach was still in the high school ranks at Bentonville High. That relationship has gotten Neighbors’ foot in the door for Smith’s player in the past, but it hasn’t always sealed the deal.
In the Class of 2016, Northside guard Aahliyah Jackson was one of the top players in the state and highly recruited. She included Neighbors’ Washington squad in her top three, but eventually picked former Arkansas coach Gary Blair at Texas A&M over him and former Arkansas assistant Vic Schaefer at Mississippi State.
It wouldn’t be easy for Wolfenbarger, either. In the two years since Arkansas offered, more than 30 Division I programs followed suit, including powerhouses like Baylor, Oregon, Notre Dame and Tennessee.
Although she grew up cheering for the Razorbacks, Wolfenbarger and her family took a businesslike approach to the process. They visited several campuses and she did her own research on programs, coaches and rosters before making her decision.
“Mike was probably the most excited man on earth when he got that phone call,” Smith said. “She was recruited by the best of the best and they worked their tail off.
“It’s not like this was a lock from Day 1 - she seriously considered all of them. She just felt like the University of Arkansas and Coach Neighbors’ program was the best fit for her.”
