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Tiger football named GAC Team of the Decade

The Ouachita Tiger football team was recently named the first Great American Conference Team of the Decade. Along with this prestigious honor, there were eleven individual players from the decade that were named to the GAC All-Decade Team, including three of the players that helped lead the team to its third consecutive GAC title in the 2019 season. Allie Freeman, Keandre Evans and Cori Gooseberry were all key pieces during the team’s success in the 2019 season. “It feels good to solidify this program in history,” Gooseberry said. “To me, and I hate to say it, Team of the Decade means we have been dominating this conference for the past 10 years. I’m excited to see the next 10 years for the program.”

Along with their GAC honors, a few Tigers won individual awards for their efforts in 2019. Freeman, senior wide receiver for the Tigers, was named to the D2football.com All-American team, along with setting numerous team and conBY MITCHELL EMRICH Staff Writer

ference records. He was named to the All-GAC First Team as a wide receiver and a return specialist. Freeman broke the GAC record for career receptions and was the first non-quarterback in GAC history to rack up 5,000 all-purpose yards. Despite this, Freeman feels like he has been underestimated during his time at Ouachita.

“Achieving these awards means everything,” Freeman said. “People look at my outward appearance and underestimate me, but God looks at my heart.”

With 2,900 receiving yards over the past 4 seasons and a reputation for terrorizing teams as a kick returner, it’s safe to say that teams are finished underestimating Freeman. Gooseberry was named to the NCAA.com All-American team, and the Little Rock Touchdown Club honored him with the Willie Roaf Award for Arkansas’ Offensive Lineman of the Year. Gooseberry also pointed back to his teammates when asked about his individual award.

“Winning the award means that the hard work that I put in during the spring and the summer with my teammates actually paid off,” Gooseberry said. “It means that people outside this program are actually seeing the growth and development of Ouachita football.”

Senior running back Brockton Brown was also honored by the Little Rock Touchdown Club as a recipient of the Darren McFadden Award for being the best college running back in Arkansas. In the season opener against Harding University, Brown scored the only touchdown in the game, and he went on to lead the Tigers in scoring during the 2019 season, with 25 total touchdowns. This makes him the second leading scorer in all of Division II football. However, Brown pointed out the fact that even though he was the one who received the Darren McFadden Award, it was definitely a team effort.

“This award means that all of the hard work our team has put in is recognized,” Brown said. “It means my O-line, along with the rest of the offense, gets due credit for how they made my job easy.”

Keandre Evans celebrates on the field. Having finished his career as a senior defensive back for the Tigers in the 2019 season, Evans was one of the football players to be named to the GAC’s All-Decade Team. (photo by Hannah Smith)

Mamba Mentality: Remembering Kobe Bryant

BY BATES YOAKUM Guest Writer

January 26, 2020, was a difficult day for sports fans around the globe as NBA superstar and Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna “GiGi” Bryant, along with seven others, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa and daughters Natalia, Bianka and Capri.

Kobe Bryant was drafted out of Lower Merion High School in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets, then immediately traded to the Lakers. Bryant would go on to become a five-time NBA champion, 18-time All-Star NBA MVP and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He also holds the record for the second most points scored in a single game, putting up 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in January 2006, and is fourth on the all-time scoring list. The night before his death, NBA superstar LeBron James passed Bryant to become third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Among these incredible accolades, Bryant is also one of the only players in NBA history to play his 20-year career with just one team: the Los Angeles Lakers. After Bryant’s legendary 60 point final game on April 13, 2016, he officially retired from basketball, but his legacy was far from over.

Bryant went on to become successful in the business industry and won an Oscar with his media company Granity Studios for the short film “Dear Basketball.” On top of his success in business, he began coaching his daughter’s basketball team and became an advocate for women’s basketball teams.

Following Bryant’s unexpected death Sunday morning, social media began to spiral out of control. Many media sources quickly published the story, leading to some interesting and false reports on who exactly was in the helicopter during the crash. One media source even claimed that former NBA player Rick Fox was among those in the crash; however, this was proven to be incorrect.

There were 6 NBA games scheduled on the day of Bryant’s passing, and in honor of him each team gave up their first possession and let the twenty-four second shot clock run out in honor of the number Bryant wore from the 2006- 2007 season until his retirement in 2016. Other NBA teams followed suit over the next few days, giving

up their first possession of the ball to honor the NBA legend.

On the night of Bryant’s death, NBA players Trae Young and Devin Booker had some interesting stats from their play. Both players took twenty-four shot attempts, and both combined for a total of 81 points. Both numbers are significant pieces of Bryant’s legendary NBA career.

Kobe Bryant will be remembered for his many accomplishments on and off of the court, but perhaps his greatest one is the generation of athletes he inspired, who are now writing their own names in the sports record books.