All-Area Basketball: Goldsboro's Artis named boys' player-of-the-year

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on April 9, 2015 1:48 PM

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By ALLEN ETZLER

aetzler@newsargus.com

Rasheen Artis sat back in his chair in the media center at his beloved Goldsboro High School and thought about how he got to this point -- from a selfish and immature ninth-grader who morphed into a humble and quiet senior.

"Honestly, I'm shocked I even got this so I don't really know what to say right now," he says about being named the 2015 News-Argus All-Area boys' basketball player-of-the-year.

"There's so many good players in (the area). Guys like Ty McClain over at Wayne Christian, Joel Davis at (Wayne Country Day), those guys are good players. This means a lot."

Artis thought back to his freshman season.

He was young.

He wanted to prove himself.

"I was selfish," he says bluntly. "I wanted to be the one to shoot the ball all the time."

This year, the mature senior played selflessly and willingly did anything needed to help the Cougars win. Artis still scored -- more than 16 points a game. He led the team in assists and was the third-leading rebounder on an undersized team.

Artis hit two game-clinching free throws in an upset win over eventual 2-A state champion Kinston. The Cougars handed the Vikings one of their two losses against a North Carolina school this season.

"That was a huge win for us, and for the community," Artis said. "That really showed the community just how good we were and after that more and more

people started coming out."

Goldsboro reached the third round of the playoffs, but lost to Farmville     Central when it let a late lead slip away.

Artis helped the Cougars accomplish these feats despite playing with two sprained wrists -- an injury he suffered in an overtime road loss against Ayden-Grifton.

Instead, he focused more attention on defense and consistently guarded the other team's best perimeter play. He averaged nearly three steals per game and often turned them into transition baskets.

"I mean it's my senior year, there is no way I was sitting out," Artis said. "I wanted to be on the court... I had to focus more on defense because you never want to come off and if I couldn't score on offense I had to find a way to stay out there.

"I can always get after it on defense and turn that into my offense."

On offense, Artis wasn't able to use his improved mid-range jump shot much after the injury. He relied on his craftiness, speed and ability to finish around the basket to score points. Artis can dunk with ease, but it's not a part of his game he likes to show off.

Artis prefers to do his work on the court quietly and with little fanfare. Part of his transformation into a team leader is that he is humble on the court and helps to impart that style of play on his teammates.

"A lot of people ask me, you know, why I don't dunk more or do this or that," Artis said. "I just tried to put the ball in the basket. I don't care how it's done. I just wanted to show the younger guys that you don't have to be out there talking trash.

"Just play your game and if you're good people will know you're good."

Artis has always been an emotional player. After beating Kinston, he paced around the coaches office for 15 minutes after the game while talking to reporters.

And when the Cougars' season came to an end, he was distraught and had a hard time coping with how his career ended. But he realized his teammates were looking to him, just as they had looked to him all year. He still had to be there for them.

"I just had to realize how great of a career I had here at Goldsboro and push through the pain," Artis said. "I just had to have faith this wasn't the end of my basketball career."