BURN THE HORSE
When Strong’s 6-5 guard Stetson Billings committed to UALR
last fall, we all thought that was a solid pickup.
He’s an Arkansas kid who played for the Arkansas Wings in
AAU ball. He’s a good shooter, effective defender and hard worker. All solid
reasons to like him.
Then came a mid-January night. Billings’ line: 57 points, 16
rebounds and 10 assists in an 89-65 victory over Bearden. FYI, Bearden was
playing a box-and-1.
Those 57 points got the attention of a lot of folks in the region. Billings has improved every year. He averaged 18 points and
8 rebounds as a sophomore, 22 points and 14 rebounds as a junior and 31 points
and 12 rebounds last season.
“Stetson is a young man that if I was a college coach I
would have been here recruiting him,” Strong-Huttig Coach Anthony Avery said. “He’s
6-5, but can play at the 1, 2 or 3. He’s long-armed and jumps well. He makes
everyone around him play harder because that’s what he brings to the game. He gets
everyone involved and is a leader on the floor. I wish I had 15 of him on my
team.”
Again, that’s all good. But this is what potentially makes
him a big-time player in the Sun Belt.
“Stetson is a long, rangy player who can really defend. In
time, he could be someone we assign to guard our opponent’s best perimeter
scorer night-in and night-out,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “He is a very
good rebounder at both ends of the floor and really reminds me of a young John
Fowler, who was the 2009 Sun Belt defensive player of the year. Stetson is a
very tough player who is not afraid to mix it up.”
This is how Billings sizes up his own game: “I’m really a
versatile player. I can play in the inside, play outside. I like to take the
mid-range jump shot. I’m trying to increase my skills at taking the jump shot
off the dribble. I get rebounds. I’ll hold the best player if you need me to. Whatever
Coach wants.”
Billings fits into the mix at the 2 and 3 positions for UALR
this season. Junior Will Neighbour and sophomore Taggart Lockhart both played
the majority of the minutes at the 3 last season.
“My goals are just to come in and help wherever I can. Just
to work hard in every position,” Billings said.
It is interesting to hear Billings talk about improving his
mid-range game. That is the very thing ESPN downgraded him for when they rated
him an 83 as a recruit. ESPN: “As much as we value his stroke and decent
ability to leap, we’d like to see diversity in his game. Can he develop a
mid-range pull-up? Will he be a guy who can get to the paint? These are two
questions we have in evaluating him.”
Billings was among the first of the newcomers to report and
has spent the summer gaining much-needed strength with Coach John Barron.
“It’s been going pretty good. I love it here. I like working
out with Coach Barron. I’m just trying to get stronger and bigger,” said
Billings, who reported at 174 pounds and is now at 190. “I always tried to gain
weight but it seemed like I never could. I’m very excited. It encourages me a
lot to keep working to get bigger and stronger.”
Upside: Above average shooter and defender and hard-worker
on the court.
Downside: Needs to get stronger and prove he can hit the
pull-up jumper with consistency.
Outlook: Billings figures to get a pretty good look this
season, whether at the 2 or the 3 position (or both).
