SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber must replace eight seniors off last year's team, but the Wildcats aren't exactly starting over.
Not by a long shot.
Springdale Har-Ber has added three transfers who were starters last season at nearby Class 7A schools: point guard Tereke Eckwood from crosstown rival Springdale High School, 6-6 center Mason McNee from Bentonville and 6-3 guard Avery Benson from Siloam Springs.
The most notable is Eckwood, a senior point guard who helped lead Springdale High to the state championship game against North Little Rock last spring. Eckwood said he wanted to transfer across town so he could play with his brother, Tevin Eckwood, a freshman who was already in the Har-Ber school district.
"That was one of my lifetime things, to get to play on a team with Tevin," said Eckwood, who averaged 12 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as a junior last season. "I think we can have some fun this year."
Har-Ber hasn't had much fun recently, and Scott Bowlin was hired last year after former coach Adam Simmons resigned following three consecutive losing seasons. Har-Ber made only moderate gains (12-14, 4-10 7A-West) last year under Bowlin, who spent 10 years at Greene County Tech in Paragould and led the Eagles to two state championships in Class 5A.
Bowlin's challenge this year will be mixing Eckwood, McNee and Benson in with Har-Ber's holdovers.
"If you didn't know they'd moved in here, you'd think they'd been here their whole career," Bowlin said. "They work hard, and they're kids with good character. It's been enjoyable to watch how they've come in and fit in with our team."
The new players will undoubtedly take minutes and shots away from players who have already been in the Har-Ber system, but if there is any resentment it hasn't shown.
"We've grown to like each other on and off the court," said senior Mason Cline, Har-Ber's top returning scorer from last year. "They're not taking anything away from me because as long as the team is winning, I'll do anything I can to help.
"It's about we, not me."
Cline and McNee have been good friends, and the two have been highly visible at Har-Ber's volleyball games this year. Cline waves a flag while leading the team onto the floor, and McNee leads the cheers from the bleachers.
"I've met a lot of people, and I love Har-Ber so much," said McNee, a senior who averaged about eight points and eight rebounds a game last season at Bentonville. "As far as basketball, I think the system here fits me better than when I was at Bentonville."
Eckwood, McNee, and Benson, a sophomore who averaged 13 points a game as a freshman starter last season, are all receiving interest from small colleges, including NCAA Division II champion Central Missouri State. But their immediate future will depend on how well they mesh while trying to transform Har-Ber from a loser into a winner.
Har-Ber opens the season Nov. 24 at Mena, but there are more important games on the Wildcats' schedule. For Eckwood and McNee, those games will come in February when they face their former teammates in road games at Springdale and Bentonville.
"I've already got that date [Feb. 10] circled on my calendar," Eckwood said. "Walking into that building will be tough, but I'm going to be ready for it."
Sports on 11/02/2014