Back in the Trenches : Kirksey, 23, Completing Tour of Duty as Valley College Center After 4-Year Stint in the Marines

Valley College center Art Kirksey knows that he could be among the thousands of U. S. Marines stationed in Saudi Arabia. Luckily, he finished his four-year hitch in 1989, at a time when the Marines still were looking for a few good basketball players instead of combat-ready troops.

“I was on the base team and all I did was play basketball,” said Kirksey, who traveled to Japan and the Philippines to play games. “It was my job.”

But the Marines apparently do not train their basketball players as thoroughly as their soldiers. “He received no instruction or structure,” Valley College Coach Jim Stephens said. “It was more like pickup basketball.”

Although Kirksey, 23, came out of the Marines as an expert with an M16 rifle, his court sense and mechanics were lacking. However, Kirksey always has been able to compensate for his deficiencies by being “a great leaper,” Stephens said, “as good an athlete as I’ve coached in 20 years.”

The 6-foot-4 Kirksey was a raw, unknown walk-on when he tried out for the Valley basketball team this fall. “I didn’t expect him to make it,” Stephens said. Neither did Kirksey, who says, “I was skeptical.”

Kirksey, older than anybody on the team but Navy veteran Nathan Hall, made giant strides in only a few weeks of practice. When the season began, he was the starting center, a shot-blocking whiz.

In one early game, he swatted away seven balls in the first half alone. He leads the team in blocked shots and rebounds but, more significantly, he has become what Stephens believes is the key to the Monarchs’ fortunes this season.

“We’re only going to be as good as he is,” said Stephens, whose team has a 9-7 record.

Unfortunately for the Monarchs, Kirksey’s development seems to have reached a plateau. “His progress has stopped,” Stephens said, “and he’s not reacting to the situations in the game. His maturity should show but it doesn’t.”

Kirksey, an affable Alabaman, knows he was in the coach’s doghouse for a while, but he is not about to make excuses.

“When I got here I had to prove myself, but after I did, I lost my determination and drive,” he said. “I disappointed myself the last couple of games. I also disappointed the coach and I feel bad.”

Kirksey has a history of being an athletic underachiever. In high schools in Birmingham and Leeds, Ala., Kirksey paid more attention to social hi-jinks than to sports.

“I was kind of wild,” he said. He started at center for two seasons in basketball but quit football rather than switch from running back to wide receiver.

“I wasn’t dedicated but I had good athletic ability,” said Kirksey, whose older brother William plays on special teams for the Minnesota Vikings.

Kirksey’s jumping ability was apparent at an early age. “I could dunk in the eighth grade,” he said.

Kirksey said he had “a couple of offers” to play college basketball but decided to enlist in the Marines.

“I wasn’t ready for college,” he said. “I saw friends flunk out because they didn’t take school seriously. I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

Kirksey, who hopes to put his deep baritone to use in broadcasting, was ready for college after the Marines and is happy with his academic progress.

“I go to class and put forth the effort,” said Kirksey, who lives in Panorama City with his sister Shannon and is going to school on the GI Bill. “If I’d gone to college right out of high school, I wouldn’t be doing this good.

“In high school, if I failed to see the relevance of a class, I neglected it.”

After finishing at Valley next year, Kirksey would like to play basketball at a four-year college, but he has not zoned in on any region in the country.

“My brother wants me to move to Minnesota, but I think it’s too cold for me,” Kirksey said.

Right now, Stephens is more concerned about whether Kirksey reaches his potential on the court.

“What he does in the next month will determine how far he’ll go,” Stephens said.

For his part, Kirksey said he will rededicate himself. He enjoys playing at Valley.

After all, a green-and-gold Monarchs uniform might not be as glamorous as a desert-camouflage outfit, but chances are you won’t be shot at for wearing it.