Sutherland, Jason

1993 Watertown/1997 Missouri graduate. One of the most gifted, versatile athletes in state history. All-state football and basketball player at Watertown, where the 6-foot-1 Sutherland high jumped 7 feet, 1 inch to win a State AA track title. He cleared 7 feet at two other meets that season. Went on to play Division I basketball and then professional basketball overseas before becoming a semi-pro football star. At Watertown, Sutherland was first-team all-state in basketball and football in 1992 and ’93, and was the state high jump champion in 1991 and ’92. He also set school records in the pole vault. Led Watertown to the state basketball title as a junior and a state runner-up finish as a senior by averaging 29.5 points a game. He scored 1,899 points in his prep career. Named to the 1992-93 Converse High School All-American Team and was invited to play in several national prep all-star games. Named SD Boys’ Athlete of the Year and SD Mr. Basketball in 1993. At Missouri, he was all-Big Eight who helped Tigers go 82-45 (including four wins over rival Kansas) from 1993-97 with three NCAA Tournament appearances and winning the 1994 Big Eight title (14-0). Scored 1,194 career points and finished his career among the top three in Missouri history in multiple categories including free throw percentage (85 percent) and three-pointers made (190). He made seven three-pointers in a game twice (vs. Oklahoma in 1996 and vs. Wake Forest in 1997). Played professionally in Italy and Germany, before an injury (torn ACL) ended his basketball career. In 2007 at age 34 — 15 years after his last high school football game, Sutherland started playing minor league football as quarterback for the Kansas Kaos. By the third game, he had won the starting job and was thriving.