Page 37 - All Arkansas Preps 2020

Advertising Supplement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | All-Arkansas Preps | Sunday, June 28, 2020 37M OUTSTANDING COACH OF THE YEAR:
FOOTBALL
BUCK’S
IT IS REALLY A GREAT HONOR, and I was really surprised it happened.”
— Buck James, ALL-ARKANSAS PREPS COACH OF THE YEAR
■ Back-to-back state-title wins
■ The school’s first undefeated season
■ 43-8 in four seasons
■ National Federation of State High School Associations Arkansas Coach of the Year
■ Currently on a 17-game winning streak, dating back to 2018
■Won10of13games this season by the mercy rule
■ University of Arkansas at Monticello Hall of Famer, 2015
James, who coached at Camden Fairview High Schoo
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coming to Bryant, said football is all he has ever k
beginning in the second grade.
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“It was just a natural fit,” he said. “I knew in the e
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that I wanted to be a coach, and I went through coll l
football, and I studied to be a coach.
“That was my passion all along.”
James was the starting right tackle for the Univ
n was inducted into UAM’s Hall of Fame in 2015.
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James said there wasn’t really a turning point this
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the program, as the Hornets played every game a
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level, starting with the season’s scrimmage. He said the kids were focused and determined and expected to go out and
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Arkansas at Monticello football team, graduating in
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win every Friday night.
“I think they were self-motivated, and our coaches did a really good job of preparing them and not letting them burn
out or peak too soon,” James said. “Our players really bought into the team concept, and teams that win championships go above and beyond and play at a high level in games and practice.
“They expected to go out and play and destroy their opponents. I think that was their focus.”
James said going into last fall, the Hornets lost six starters on offense and defense, but he said the defense really stepped up and gave the team a chance to win every ballgame.
Daylon Land played outside linebacker for the Hornets and graduated this spring. He is planning to play football at Morehouse College in Atlanta in the fall. He said that at first, he and Coach James didn’t get along.
“We didn’t see eye to eye, but as I got older, I saw how he was making a better man out of me,” Land said. “I grew to love him and how he prepared me for the next level of manhood.”
Land described James as an old-school-type coach and very disciplined and focused.
“He is going to make a man out of you before he makes you a football player,” Land said. “He is going to tell you when you are right or wrong.
SEE JAMES, PAGE 44