ALMA (KFSM) - Mitchell Smith is one of the most highly sought after big men in this part of the country but Tuesday night at rival Alma, the Van Buren forward put his skills other than scoring on display.
The 6-foot-10 Pointer dished out a handful of assists as he fought off double teams from the Airedales and that's a part of his game that continues to impress.
"Mitchell is very unselfish with the basketball," Van Buren coach Randy Loyd said. "He felt the double team tonight. It's the first time he's really been doubled like that, the way they came at him. He's very good at passing the basketball."
"We understand that people are going to double team me this year so we have to find ways to counter that," Smith said. "Our four man did a good job of going back door every time they would double team me and that`s how I found him."
Smith has already collected a scholarship offers from the likes of Arkansas, Oklahoma State and other Division I schools and when his coaches talks about the forward, it's a five star rating across the board.
"He's skilled with every part of his game," Loyd said. "He can put it on the floor from the perimeter. He can put it on the floor when he`s got his back to the basket and that`s a weapon he can use and he`s hard to guard."
Smith will likely see plenty more double teams and scholarship offers over the final year and a half at Van Buren but the only thing he's focused on is helping raise a championship banner at the Clair Bates Arena.
"We`re going to have to lock up, play defense," Smith said. "Defense is a must for us. We`ve been top in state on defense the past two years. Defense gets you stops and stops make points."