ALTON - Edwardsville's Mark Smith has emerged as one of the top players in the area, thanks to some remarkable performances the past several weeks.
So much so, in fact, that's he's attracted the attention of several major-college programs; notable coaches like Kansas State's Bruce Weber, Illinois' John Groce and Indiana's Tom Crean have been in attendance at recent games to see Smith in person. Smith sparkled Tuesday night at Alton, posting a game-high 32 points and dominated the contest with his offensive and defensive play.
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“It's exciting to have those guys there,” Smith said. “I'm just blessed to have that opportunity for Tom Crean and his assistant coaches to come watch me, but I'm out there just trying to win the game; I'm worried about the team, I don't care about myself that much. I just want to win and do everything possible to win.”
Part of the Tiger game plan against the Redbirds was to shut down Kevin Caldwell and Ty'ohn Trimble; they limited Caldwell to six points and Trimble to seven points. “Alton's a good team,” Smith said. “Our plan was to take away Kevin and Ty'ohn; they're good basketball players that can score; that's just due to coach (Mike) Waldo's preparation. Every time they came down and made a run, we had a set play; that's just due to coach Waldo's preparation. We were just out there executing.”
When asked if there was anything he was better at this season, Smith said “just getting to the basket. I got a little quicker and my jumping abilities got better, my explosiveness and my athleticism, just getting to the basket and finishing stronger.
“I'm a lot stronger; when they reach in and try to grab it, I keep the ball high and try to finish and get to the free-throw line or kick it to an open man when two people come out, just try to be a playmaker for the team and do whatever I can to help us win basketball games.”
Taking Caldwell and Trimble out of Alton's equation was important, Smith felt. “The last week, they were putting up some big numbers in that Chic-Fil-A tournament (at Belleville East), so to come out here and hold those guys is a shout-out to Caleb (Strohmeier) and Jack (Marinko); Jackson Best came off the bench and did really good, he got a couple of steals. He did a really good job on defense and played with a lot of energy.”
The Tigers host Belleville West at 7:30 p.m. Friday, then host Gateway STEM of St. Louis city at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
