Latham looks to catch on with Golden Lions

Latham looks to catch on with Golden Lions

Marion guard to invade Pine Bluff

Sports Editor Following a three-year career as a Marion Patriot, Allen “A.J.” Latham will get a chance to continue getting buckets in college.

Latham will attend the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in the fall on an academic scholarship, and will get the opportunity to play basketball with the Lions, as well.

“Coach told me that I’ll be going for academics at first, but he also wants me to play for the team too,” Latham explained following his signing ceremony at Marion High School yesterday afternoon.

Latham boasts a 3.8 GPA and a 24 on his ACT. The senior guard was a team captain for the 2015-2016 edition of the Marion Patriots. While Latham made his name at Patriot Arena in Marion, by way of Hughes, that doesn’t mean that he’s not familiar with Pine Bluff. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

“I used to go a lot when (Marion alum) Rashad Boyd played football there,” says Latham. “That’s my cousin and when we were there, we looked around and stuff. It’s also Division 1, so I’m really looking forward to the competition.”

Boyd isn’t the only UAPB connection to Marion in recent memory. Former point guard Marcel Mosley starred for the Lions after graduating from Marion in 2011.

If Latham has his way, he would like to emulate Mosley’s basketball journey.

“He went overseas to play ball after he got done in college, so I wouldn’t mind following in his footsteps and maybe doing what he was able to do,” Latham confirmed.

While Latham’s focus will likely be on UAPB full time after he graduates from Marion on Thursday night, when asked, he was able to cite two of his favorite memories from high school basketball.

“The first one would have to be when we beat West Memphis for the first time when I was on the team (a dramatic 51-49 victory in January of 2015), and the second one would be when I scored 31 points against Central (a 71-69 win in January, 2016) because we won and that was my career high,” Latham says.

UAPB was 8-25 last season, with a 6-12 mark in league play.

By Chuck Livingston