A college career full of adversity, personal development, newfound inspiration and a few shattered records has prepared Harding alumnus Jacob Gibson for his upcoming step into professional basketball. The former Bison shooting guard signed a contract earlier this year with the Ringwood Hawks, a Big V League team near Melbourne, Australia.
Gibson said playing professionally was not something he thought possible growing up and that even during his time at Harding, he could not foresee a future basketball career.
“I never thought I’d play any pro sport growing up,” Gibson said. “For the longest time I was lacking confidence but (head) coach (Jeff) Morgan helped me grow a lot as a player and as a person.”
An Arkansas native, Gibson was recruited by Morgan and contributed immediately during his freshman season in 2012. Gibson quickly became the Bisons’ go-to three-point shooter and averaged 14 points per game in his breakout sophomore year.
However, things changed midway through Gibson’s junior year when he was dismissed from the university for disciplinary reasons. Gibson said he returned to his hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas, disappointed but realized that his time off was crucial in his development both on and off the court.
“Leaving was very tough on me, but it really helped me focus in on my life,” Gibson said. “As a person it just opened my eyes to all sorts of things. Overall I’m thankful I was able to come back and be on the team — that was the biggest thing, I loved going out there with some of my closest friends.”
Back on Harding’s campus in 2016, Gibson said he brought a new mindset to basketball and life, citing his coach and his teammates as role models.
“Watching how Coach Morgan and how guys like Will (Francis) live their lives, it just helped me really pursue God and want to have a strong relationship with him,” Gibson said. “As a player, it was just the confidence instilled whenever you’re around people like that and (when) you work together, you sweat together and you trust each other. That helped me whenever I got the confidence to play freely and be myself — that was huge.”
During 2016, Gibson broke Harding’s all-time three-point record, averaged 17.3 points per game and was named Great American Conference player of the year, raising the eyebrows of several pro coaches overseas.
“The opportunity rose up for me right at the end of the senior season when I had a good second half,” Gibson said. “I guess my name started getting thrown around to some coaches and they were noticing some stuff online about me. I had a connection to (Ringwood) through a guy who played in Northeast Arkansas, and he helped me out and mentioned my name to the coach.”
After further communication with Ringwood’s staff, Gibson was able to sign on for the Australian squad’s 2017 season with a few important people nearby.
“I was very excited when I got the contract offer,” Gibson said. “It looked like a really good deal for now and the best fit for me. (Getting to) sign with my friends and teammates there to surround me that day was awesome.”
As he transitions into his professional career, Gibson said he hopes to take a piece of his Harding experience with him to Melbourne, as well as his ability to make shots.
“I know they’re going to ask me to score points, and I want to fill that role for the team on the court,” Gibson said. “I’m really appreciative to Coach Morgan and thankful for my time at Harding. I’m just going to try and take the attitude I learned to have (at Harding) and do whatever it takes to win games.”
