July 5, 2022 at 7:28 a.m.
Hodags' Smith on winning WBCA All-Star team
Hodags' Smith on winning WBCA All-Star team
The recently-graduated Hodag senior had eight points and a pair of rebounds as his Red squad held off the White team 124-111 in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 2 All-Star Game in Wisconsin Dells.
Smith, playing with 11 other top D2 seniors in the state, got only 13 1/2 minutes in Thursday's game, but said it was another amazing experience.
"The whole thing has just been crazy, a lot of fun, a lot of good memories," Smith said of his three days with the team in the Dells. "On my team alone, I had a bunch of guys that I played AAU with for the last couple of years and also a few guys I had heard of that were really good, and I never really talked to them. Just meeting them and being able to hang out with them for the last week has been just awesome. I'm really thankful.
"A lot of exciting moments in the last week, that's for sure."
Though Smith had only three buckets in the game, they came at impactful moments. He made a layup in transition late in the first quarter to give the Red team a 31-30 lead. He hit a 3 in the second quarter that tied the game at 50. Smith assisted Wauwatosa West's Colin Hardrick on a triple that broke a 72-all tie in the third quarter. After the White team answered with a 5-0 run to take the lead, Smith hit a 3 with 2:41 left in the third to put the Red team back in front, 78-77.
"I hit some 3s, defended pretty well," Smith said. "There were a lot of good players on the other team defensively. It's hard to do a lot, but I just felt like I had to try to fit in."
The White team led 32-31 after a quarter and had control most of the second, closing on an 12-2 run over the final two minutes to go up 64-54 at the break. The Red team opened the second half on a 13-3 run to tie it and once Smith gave the Red team the lead late in the third, they held it until just under nine minutes to play in the fourth, when a 3 by Pewaukee's Ashton Janowski put the White team up, 92-91.
The teams traded buckets on the next three possessions, with a 3 by Medford's Joey Sullivan giving the Red Team the lead, 96-94. That ignited a 19-3 run for the Red team that put the game out of reach.
Six players reached double digits for the Red squad, led by La Crosse Central teammates Devon Felding (20) and Noah Compan (17). Seven players reached double figures for the White team, led by Wisconsin Lutheran's Jordan Glenn with 25. Green Bay Notre Dame's Chris Mitchell added 21.
"I think all but three players are going to play college basketball and the three that aren't could have," Smith said. "You've got guys that are going D-III, D-II, D-I. I felt like I held my own, but there were a lot of good players out there."
Smith, who will play men's basketball at UW-Superior next winter, said the week gave him a taste of what the game will be like at the collegiate level.
"During practice we weren't going through plays. We weren't doing little tiny drills. We were scrimmaging the whole entire time," he said. "I felt like I got better just this week alone playing at that fast of a game. That's how college is going to be too. Just getting ready for the speed difference helped a lot."
The Red team won in four of the five divisions on Thursday's boys' all-star games. The lone exception came in Division 1 where the White team, coached by RHS alum and Wausau West head coach Nate Lemmens, defeated the Red team 107-100. RHS boys' basketball coach Derek Lemmens served as an assistant on his brother's staff for that game.
The 45th annual WBCA All-Star Game was a two-day event at JustAGame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells featuring some of the top senior boys and girls in the state. Proceeds from the event went to support the MACC (Midwest Athletes against Childhood Cancer) Fund.
Smith thanked Derek Lemmens for nominating him to play in the game, the WBCA for putting on the event, and the Hodag fans and sponsors who supported his fundraising efforts for the event.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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