During these toughest of times, Deshawn Goodwyn has been a beacon of light for George Wythe High School basketball.

Gifted in so many ways, the 6-foot-5, 182-pound senior has put on an unforgettable performance in an otherwise forgettable season for the Bulldogs. Wythe finished the season with a 3-16 record.

The son of Reginald Goodwyn and Katrinia Murray Bledsoe, Goodwyn wears No. 0 for Coach Willard Coker. He will be remembered as among the top 3-point shooters in state history. In three seasons, he hit the bottom of the nets with nearly 300 three-balls.

“Deshawn stepped right in as a freshman for us,” Coach Coker said. “He was determined to be the best at what he did best—shooting the three.”

It has been challenging, however, to say the least for a program that won the State 2A title in 2015.

Coach Coker’s program never fully recovered from the pandemic restrictions. All Rich- mond Public Schools teams opted out of the 2020-21 for safety concerns.

“We just didn’t have the firepower,” Coach Coker said. “We never bounced back.”

The Bulldogs played with seven or eight players much of the season and

were down to six during its game at Powhatan in a surprise victory.

Every George Wythe opponent concentrated its defense on making life as difficult as possible for Goodwyn.

“Deshawn has been box and one’d, double teamed and face guarded every night,” Coach Coker said.

Still, the relentless Bulldogs averaged about 23 points—high of 44 points against Clover Hill High School—while hitting about 40 percent from beyond the arc. Deshawn finished with about 1,000 career points in just three seasons.

Every shot he takes is heavily contested.

“Defenses have been crazy,” Goodwyn told the Free Press. “Seems like they’re always throw- ing two (defenders) at me.”

There’s much more to Goodwyn than just hoops.

While he plays for George

Wythe High School, he attends Franklin Military Academy where he is vying for valedicto- rian honors with a 4.56 GPA.

On top of that, he scored a whopping 1,310—on a 1,600 scale—on his SAT college admissions exam.

Because Franklin Military Academy has no athletic teams, Goodwyn is free to play for his South Side neighborhood school, George Wythe.

But there’s more, much more.

On Sundays, he serves as the pianist for Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church on 2nd Avenue in Highland Park.

“Deshawn is wonderful,” said the Rev. James M. Arsenault. “It’s a combination of his natural talent and having grown up listening to our music in the congregation.”

Goodwyn attended All Saints Catholic School until seventh grade. His mother serves as office manager for Saint Elizabeth.

Neither of Goodwyn’s parents plays the piano, nor has he had any formal training. He is self-taught.

“I pretty much learned how through YouTube,” Goodwyn said.

He’s not the kind of teenager bullies might want to rough up, either. Don’t try stealing his lunch.

In 1994, his father won a world karate championship in Trinidad. Goodwyn has trained with his father at home and also at the Downtown YMCA, where Mr. Goodwyn has served as an instructor.

Goodwyn’s nearly historic shooting aim from distance doesn’t come by accident. “During the off-season, I might put up 500 jump shots a day,” Goodwyn said. “I’ll stay after practice and shoot another 250.”

Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog. Helping polish his jumper has been Brandon Holley, a shooting star on George Wythe’s 2015 state title squad. Chipping in with ball-handling advice has been Maurice Coleman, another 2015 star.

Recruiting has been a surprisingly light. His most serious offers have come from Yale and Cornell universities of the Ivy League, and Emory & Henry University, a NCAA Division II school.

There are at least three reasons for a lack of college interest. He missed his entire junior year due to the pandemic. Then he suffered a serious concussion last spring that took him away from the AAU circuit.

“I was bedridden for three months,” he recalled.

Also factoring in is his late growth spurt. He sprouted from an even 6-foot as a sophomore to his current 6-foot-5.

And lastly, the struggling, undermanned Bulldogs have been unable to attract much attention this winter.

It’s not uncommon nowadays for athletes to change schools, chasing the greener grass. Not so with Goodwyn.

“We have a great relationship with Coach Coker,” said Mr. Goodwyn, who serves as an assistant coach.

According to Goodwyn, “I was going to be loyal to the school that has given me so much.”

As lights go, you won’t find one much brighter than No. 0 for the Bulldogs.