EDWARDSVILLE - The St. Louis basketball area, in particular, the Metro East, is in the middle of a golden era.
Jeremiah Tilmon from East St. Louis and Javon Pickett of Belleville East are pledged to the University of Illinois. They’re joined by DaMonte Williams of Peoria (Manual) and Trent Frazer from West Palm Beach (Wellington). Edwardsville’s own Mark Smith could be the next player in the 618 area to commit to the Illini.
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Head coach John Groce and his assistants saw Smith score 35 points as he led the Tigers to their victory over Belleville Althoff to claim the Collinsville Holiday Tournament championship and the MVP. The next day, Smith was on hand to see the Illini defeat Ohio State at Assembly Hall in Champaign. That night the Illini offered him, which is what Illini nation wanted to hear after what they’ve seen Smith do for Edwardsville so far this season.
Smith stated in an interview with the Illini Reporter that he grew up watching Illinois play, which makes the offer all that more enticing.
Northwestern head coach Chris Collins and his fellow assistant coaches, as well as Illini assistant coach Jamall Walker, were on hand to see Smith take on Tilmon’s Flyers last night. He didn’t disappoint. He poured in 26 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and ended the night with a dunk down the lane that sent the crowd at Lucco-Jackson gym in a momentary frenzy. The Tigers were without star center A.J. Epenesa, which the made the victory that more remarkable.
The 6-foot-4 senior point guard can do just about anything you want him to do on the court. He can blow by a defender and score an easy two points on a layup or if the lane is open enough, can dunk it with authority. If he’s left alone, he will rain three’s from as far as the volleyball line without hesitation. Smith has been a scoring machine for the Tigers this season. He’s scored 285 points in 13 games and averaging 21 a game. He’s shooting 61 percent from the field and 40% from downtown (21-52). Lastly, he’s 66-78 from the charity stripe (84 percent). Throughout his career, he’s been a warhorse on the court, rarely sees the bench and is almost always on the court.
So why haven’t the college coaches been all over him until now?
Because he committed to the University of Missouri to be a pitcher on the baseball team. This past summer he uncommitted and started focusing on basketball. During the summer playing AAU ball, he received offers from Indiana State, Northern Illinois, Oral Roberts, UMass-Lowell, Western Illinois, Wright State and local SIUE.
Quite a few may think of him as a late bloomer. Regarding the recruiting game, yes, however, he’s been a standout player for Edwardsville since he was a starter on varsity as a sophomore along with current teammates Epenesa and Oliver Stephen, scoring 350 points and averaging 12 per game. The following season he upped it to 422 points and 14 per game and this year it will most likely be higher.
Edwardsville started the season off by going 4-0 and winning the Battling Bulldogs Thanksgiving Tournament. Smith scored a career-high 37 points against Althoff and outscored Saint Louis recruit Jordan Goodwin as he did in Collinsville.
Along with Illinois, DePaul and Kansas State offered Smith a short time ago and just last night Mizzou and Northwestern pulled the trigger as well.
With more and more high-major schools wanting his attention and time, Smith just wants to focus on the season with the Tigers but will take a chance to make visits soon.
“I’ve just been trying to play and block it out. It feels good when I get home,” Smith said. “We’re trying to make some visits. I don’t want to miss practice, and I want to be a team player because it’s not all about me.”
If Smith continues to impress and stays consistent then the sky's the limit for him as well as the Tigers as they aim to reach the state tournament.
