FARMINGTON (KFSM) - Basketball has been a part of Will Pridmore’s life for years.
"I started playing pretty competitively in sixth grade, I just love how competitive it is, how fast paced it all is. I played baseball for little bit, and it’s slow, and then my mom made me pick up basketball, and I’ve loved it ever since."
But until this year, he played in Prairie Grove. Will transferred down Highway 62 for his senior season, and Farmington embraced their one-time rival.
"We played him once a year since he was a sophomore, so we knew he was a great player," says coach Beau Thompson. "We were super excited when he walked in the first day."
Jaylen Montez, a senior for the Cardinals, was excited from day one.
"Oh I knew he was good, I knew he was good. When we added him, I was like that’s good, that’s perfect. It's way better playing with him."
There was a learning curve on the court, says Thompson."
"The transition was really hard for him. Those first three or four games, he was forcing things a little bit, he didn’t know what we wanted from him."
But the embrace of his new teammates helped smooth things out, according to Pridmore.
"They made it super easy for me, they accepted me when I first came, so I dint really have any problem coming in here, they just kind if made me feel like family."
And now the Cardinals are perfect in conference play, and Will leads the team in scoring
"When things break down, he can do something with it, he can get his own shot," says Thompson. "That was really the one thing this team was missing, and he provided that spark."
Montez agrees. "He opens up the floor for us, he gets buckets all the time, he’s a good addition to the team."
Pridmore helped spark the Cardinals to another win over Prairie Grove last Friday; now Farmington puts their perfect conference record on the line against Pea Ridge on Tuesday.