By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Darren Ford has a quiet and calm presence when you talk to him off the court.
A Ruston High sophomore of few words, Ford is a player content to let his on-court game do the talking.
And his presence on the floor speaks volumes.
Tonight starts the next chapter in the 2025-26 season for the Bearcats as the postseason begins at home against Barbe at 6:30 p.m., and right now, Bearcat basketball fans see a young man who just crossed the 1,000-point mark and is averaging over 20 points per game on a talented team.
But what’s easy to miss is just how much the staff has worked at the “team” aspect in an age of social media and star-level rating systems bombarding these athletes every day — work that began all the way back over the summer when Ford and his family moved to Ruston.
“We watched him this summer when he got here and saw how well he was going to fit with us,” Ruston High head coach Marcus Jackson said. “We wanted to see how we could use his talents in all facets on offense and defense. He’s played well on the ball and off the ball this summer. But a big part of the summer and early in the season was trying to build chemistry and rapport.”
Most of Ruston’s roster has known each other and played together for years. Because of this, Ford had to learn the team and the team had to learn Ford — but it didn’t take long for everyone to see that Ford would be a great addition for the team.
“It been very fun, but very challenging,” Ford said. “Practice has been very competitive, and we’ve got good coaches around trying to take us to the next level.”
Ford is certainly a high-profile talent among plenty of others on this Ruston roster. His ability to score quickly combined with good defense is getting this young man plenty of looks from college basketball teams from all over the map.
“People forget that 50 percent of basketball is defense, and defense wins championships,” Ruston High assistant coach Kyle Thorne said. “One thing I was really impressed with in Darren is how willing he is to be coachable on the defensive end and trying to mold his game — he’s improved significantly from last year and even from the summer. You see him scoring, but his defense has really helped us — especially his ability to rebound. It’s an unspoken asset on this team: he’s a terrific rebounding guard.”
Now the No. 2 seed in the LHSAA playoffs this year, Ruston has become one of the most high profile teams in the entire state. It’s a challenge Jackson and his staff are embracing, as Jackson has implemented his “We Over Me” mentality and is trying to prime this school for what could be its first hoops title in four decades. And that’s created a culture that has embraced Ford’s talent and has made Ruston High his home.
Jackson cited that one of the reasons for going out-of-state to the Capitol City Classic in Salem, Oregon, in December was because of the lack of games the team played together over the summer and while football season was going on.
“We know that most of our kids didn’t all grow up together. We graduated five seniors from last year, and we knew we would need other kids step in and play and lastly, build rapport and team bonding, which is essential,” Jackson said. “We knew that was going to be key for our team’s success so we had to build our team mentality first.”
Oregon was a rousing success for sure: the Bearcats ended up winning the entire tournament, and multiple Bearcats won honors with junior Keshun Malcolm named MVP of the opening day against Central High School in Oregon, junior Ahmad Hudson MVP of the two games against Wilsonville and Tualatin, and then Ford earning MVP honors in the championship win against St. Mary’s.
But it was off the court, too, where the team had the chance to gel with visits to the Nike headquarters and then watching Oregon and Gonzaga play high-level college basketball.
Coming back home, there have been tough practices, yes, but it’s not only about the grind of basketball for the squad: shared experiences with travel, meals and church visits are just as important for team-building and quieting the noise.
“We’re all preaching to them about what can break a team, but what can also strengthen a team,” Jackson said. “We want to build on that success — together. We tell them that you’ve got to love each other on the court and play hard for one another. Good teams all have to play on one accord in order for team success.”
Right now, Ruston has not lost a game in nearly two months and breezed its way for the most part through District 2-5A en route to a championship. Most impressive was the Bearcat blowout win against an Alexandria team that featured the top senior basketball player in Louisiana in Tyshawn Duncan.
“That game was easily one of my favorite memories,” Ford said. “It was a big game, and then we just had a huge celebration in the locker room. It was some good moments in there.”
Now, the spotlight will shine brighter on the team and the staff as postseason play begins. This is where the work and the talent have to combine together to advance in the playoffs. The hope is that it’s all been worth it and that a genuine brotherhood has been created in the process.
And when you ask Ford, he’d certainly agree to that.
“I love my team, and I’m so happy to be here,” Ford said.
Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m. tonight in Ruston High’s Main Gym.
