Smith puts on showin Friars’ win
Fenwick senior Mike Smith isn’t a flashy, brash, showy lead guard. He’s all business on the court, single-minded and efficient.
Apparently Smith saves the showboating for off the court, at least according to his teammate and friend Mike Ballard.
“He’s probably one of the goofiest guys on the team,” Ballard said. “He has this big speaker he carries around and he’s always playing music and dancing. You wouldn’t have any idea what he is really like by watching him play on the court.”
Smith was an assassin on Wednesday in Oak Park. The point guard took control of the game in the third quarter, scoring or assisting on 16 consecutive points to lead No. 4 Fenwick to a 61-52 win over No. 16 Notre Dame.
“Lately I’ve been scoring a lot and I wanted to do something different,” Smith said. “I wanted to get them shots before I started shooting. But then (when Notre Dame cut the lead to three points) it became the time for me to start shooting.”
Smith finished with 18 points. Ballard added 14 points and five rebounds and Jamal Nixon scored 11 and grabbed five boards for the Friars (12-1).
“Mike is a total point guard, he can get other people points and he can go get his one and just put us on runs like he did tonight,” Ballard said.
Ammar Becar led Notre Dame (11-3) with 17 points and 6-5 Chris Heinichen added 13 points and eight rebounds. The Dons were without standout Jeameril Wilson, who has a broken right hand.
Notre Dame is longer than the Fenwick. The Dons had six blocks, but couldn’t gain an edge on the boards. Fenwick out-rebounded Notre Dame 25-24.
“They were long, lanky, big,” Smith said. “We prepared for them well in practice. I lot of teams try to take advantage of us because we are smaller, but we played hard and we played tough so the height really doesn’t matter.”
Fenwick’s only loss this season was to Morgan Park in the Proviso West Tournament championship game.
“We got tired and lost it in the fourth quarter but it’s no excuse,” Smith said. “The loss has motivated us to do something special, to get downstate.”
The Friars played Bogan in the semifinals at Proviso West. They will face a third top-level Red-South team on Martin Luther King Day when Simeon plays at Fenwick.
“Everyone around the world knows who they are so I feel like we are the underdogs,” Smith said. “If we dig down deep and play as a team we should win.”
Smith and Ballard are both uncommitted seniors. Smith has some mid-major offers but is seriously considering playing in the Ivy League. Ballard said he’s considering some Division I and Division-III schools.
“I have some good options right now,” Ballard said. “But I’m definitely open to picking up some more offers and a game against Simeon will definitely get some attention.”