Player Spotlight: Drew Smith

I waited a week to post this after our friend Chris Lang also did a story on Drew, which by the way, if you haven’t yet read: Smith thriving in expanded role, but since Drew took the time to talk with me, and he’s having a breakout season, I thought it’d be worth posting another story.

While many members of the Flames basketball team have faded over conference play, Drew has been stepping up, especially on offense. He’s scored at least seven points in every conference game this year. That’s 14 straight games! He’s also made improvements to his rebounding, resulting in a stretch where he notched three straight double doubles. Here’s some of the most drastic statistical differences in his game since last season:

What is really impressive is Smith’s efficiency this season. His KenPom offensive rating, which is based off a combination of efficiency statistics, jumped 8 points since last year, and his field goal percentage made the ridiculous jump from 46.9 to 63.2. A lot of this success has come from Drew’s willingness to play within himself. “I don’t even notice that I’m getting those points, just trying to do what I can when I’m open, and when I’m not open, being able to find the open guy.”

As the season has progressed, Smith, along with his coaches and fellow team members, have developed a confidence in his scoring ability. “My teammates are starting to try and find me” he said, “They’ve trusted me more, and the coaching staff has told me to try and use my athleticism to be attacking the rim.”

The Liberty post will be wiped out by graduation next year, with Burrus, Coronado, and Vander Pol all graduating, making Drew the go to man down low. He said that he is learning what it is like to be a leader in this season. “The coaches have encouraged me to step up this year, even as just a secondary leader, so I’ll be ready for that role next year.”

His numbers are starting to reflect this new role he is taking on. He leads the team in FG%, has the second best KPom offensive rating, and is second on the team in rebounding.

As far as Smith’s take on the rest of the team, he remains optimistic that they can finish strong, despite their recent woes. “We are trying to stay confident in ourselves and our game, and know that a couple plays, or a couple close shots that maybe rolled in and out, those could fall in other games. You can’t get down or it will lead to other mistakes.”

“Just not trying to dunk everything, but learning to finish around the rim.” Drew said has been key for him this year.

Now, I didn’t really want this post to focus on Drew’s highlight reel making ability, but rather his maturation into an all-around player this year, but come on this guy is amazing! Just this year he’s had a plethora of posterizing slams.

The other day, while goofing around, Drew slammed it over myself and three other guys. I took to Youtube to compare it to other similar slams, and couldn’t find one that used four people that tall, not to mention he dunked it with two hands. Pretty amazing. Here’s the clip:

We’d like to thank Smith for his time, and look forward to seeing him continue to progress on the court!