The comeback kid

For Jackson standout guard Jack Puisis, basketball is a way of life.

So when Puisis was cut from his junior high basketball team in seventh grade, a harsh reality stared him in the face.

"My whole family is pretty much basketball," Puisis said. "When you get cut in the seventh grade, it's going to have an effect on you. You want to practice more."

Puisis' practice paid off. From countless hours of shooting, including outside during some harsh Pennsylvania winters before moving to Jackson, Puisis developed himself into one of the top players in Southeast Missouri, averaging 21.1 points en route to an all-state senior season and the Southeast Missourian Player of the Year honor.

Puisis said while he could not have come so far without the help of past coaches and especially his mother, he gives much of the credit to his drive and hard work.

"Sometimes you have to take credit yourself, all the hard work I put into it," he said.

Puisis showed the area his talent during a junior season when he averaged 12 points per game and was an all-Southeast Missourian second-team selection after the Indians won 22 games. But Puisis took it up a notch as a senior, hitting clutch shots, providing steady, consistent scoring and often showing he was the best player on the court during a 23-4 campaign.

Jackson coach Darrin Scott said Puisis' ability to make big shots and also create offense for other players made him such a big threat this past season.

"One of the big things he was always a consistent scorer for us," Scott said. "He always could provide offense."

Puisis' shot a healthy 47 percent (73 of 156) from 3-point range and 81 percent (111 of 137) from the free throw line. For his senior season, Puisis added a new dimension to his game, getting to the basket more with a quick first step.

After coaching against him while at Notre Dame, Scott said Puisis' ability to attack the basket this season was something that really surprised him.

"That was the most striking thing I realized right off the bat," Scott said.

Added Puisis: "Last year, I was mainly thought of as a spot-up shooter. So over the summer, we worked mainly on my speed and agility."

Aside from his personal achievements, Puisis helped lead the Indians to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons when Jackson posted 48 wins, the highest two-year total in program history. The 45 wins posted the last two seasons ranks second in a two-year span.

Among those 45 wins were eight Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament victories, which led to consecutive tournament titles. Jackson had won only one previous Christmas Tournament in 1988.

Jackson's past two seasons both ended at the hands of eventual state champion Poplar Bluff in the district championship round.

"My sophomore year, we were probably 10-17, so to have two years of 20-plus wins and win two Christmas Tournaments, it was not just an individual thing, it was the whole team," Puisis said.

Since the end of the season Puisis has been flooded with awards. Puisis has earned first-team all-region honors and first-team all-conference honors.

Now that his high school career is nearly over, Puisis can focus on his goal of playing college basketball.

He still looks back to his seventh-grade experience, knowing hard work can give him an edge on other players.

"Coaches that have seen me know how hard I work," Puisis said. "They're going to see all the hard work I've put into it and how much better I can get."

Puisis said he has been in contact with Southeast Missouri State and the University of Missouri-Kansas City and hopes to play Division I.

"Right now the high levels is my main desire, but scholarships, that will play a big role in my decision," Puisis said.

Scott said he is confident Puisis will be playing collegiately next year.

"He's going to play somewhere," Scott said. "I think that what he can give a college is he can make shots."

Area fans looking to see Puisis in action will have one more chance this year when he participates in the B.A. Sports All-Star Extravaganza on April 9 at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Puisis will play on a team coached by Scott and featuring Jackson teammate Ryan Mirly along with area standouts Willie Hassell of Portageville and Kent Deason of Kelly.

Despite only coaching him for one season, Scott said Puisis definitely would rank as one of the most talented players he's coached.

"Definitely the best shooter," Scott said. "He didn't have many games if he had an open look where he didn't make them for us."