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December 10, 2013Review: Admin writes 80% of Laf. legislation
December 11, 2013
Having reached double figures in four straight contests entering the week, Nicholls point guard Jeremy Smith is off to his best start ever.
Smith recently tied a season-high with 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Colonels’ 87-62 victory over Loyola last Saturday at Stopher Gymnasium.
He began the game by making each of his first five shots and finished 8-of-11 shooting while also contributing a block and two steals on defense as Nicholls (2-4) won its second consecutive game after beginning the year 0-4, all away from home.
If the Colonels are to continue their recent success, Smith knows he and others will have to keep stepping up and performing the way they have in recent weeks.
As with many teams, it’s not a one-man show. In the victory over Loyola, Nicholls got a season-high 20 points off the bench from sophomore T.J. Carpenter and another double-digit performance from guard Dantrell Thomas (13 points).
The Colonels had three players in double figures and as a team shot 50 percent from the field. In their previous contest, a 79-73 victory over Texas-San Antonio just before the Thanksgiving break, they had four players reach double figures.
It hasn’t been just one player contributing recently, but several.
“We’re all capable of making plays,” says Smith. “I don’t want people to think that we’re a one-dimensional team. I rely on my teammates and they rely on me. It’s like a chain reaction, a pull and push thing.”
Now a senior, Smith initially came to Nicholls from John Ehret High School on New Orleans’ Westbank. Recruited as a walk-on, he played in 13 games as a freshman before receiving a red-shirt for the 2010-11 season.
The following two years, he averaged 7.5 points per contest playing in the shadows of small forward Anatoly Bose and guard Fred Hunter, two of the most decorated players in school history.
Now, Smith’s role has changed as his playing time has increased, and the New Orleans native has responded.
“In previous years, I had a much different role,” Smith admitted.. “As a freshman and sophomore, I had to play around (Bose). My junior year, I had to play around (Hunter). I’ve got a much bigger role as a scorer now so I seek baskets and I’m more aggressive. I play within the offense and the system and rely on my teammates to get me open or put me in a situation to make a play.”
Playing alongside Bose and Hunter provided a valuable knowledge of the game, Smith said. With those two players as teammates, Smith learned from the best.
“I watched (Bose) make certain reads and certain tricks of the offense,” Smith recalled. “I learned a lot from Fred, too. I still talk to him today and he talked to me about what the weak spots are and the reads, and if the defense is playing (certain) type of ways, he’ll tell me what to look for. I learned a lot from them because they were great players, and also because they knew the game and had a high basketball IQ.”
Colonels coach J.P. Piper calls Smith one of the toughest players he’s ever coached.
Piper recalled how demanding he was on Smith when he first joined the team and despite some of the yelling and tough luck Piper admits he directed at Smith back then, Smith never wavered.
Now he’s developed into one of the Colonels’ biggest threats on the floor after being named a unanimous team captain heading into the season.
“It’s almost like, ‘I’m going to yell and scream at you until you quit,’” Piper said of Smith’s first season at Nicholls. “But he wouldn’t quit and here he is, and thank goodness he didn’t quit. He earned his way onto scholarship and I think that was an excellent decision on the part of our staff to do that two years ago.”
To Piper, players like Smith also represent part of a larger picture when it comes to recruiting basketball talent into a program.
The coach stressed that every team becomes better when it’s filled with high-character kids like Smith.
“I don’t think you have successful basketball teams without guys like him,” Piper said. “You’ve got to go get a special player or two, but you’ve got to grow some guys up within your program. You rewind five years, and no one in the state of Louisiana wanted Jeremy Smith in their program, but they’d all take him today. There’s not a program in this state that wouldn’t want that kid. I’m really proud of him and I’m glad he’s ours. He’s going to make a difference for us this year.”
Nicholls will fly to the west coast this week to begin a road swing that will take them first to San Francisco and then to Indiana. The Colonels will play the University of San Francisco Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST (9 p.m. locally).
Nicholls’ upcoming men’s basketball schedule
Dec. 14 – @ San Francisco – 9 p.m.
Dec. 18 – @ IUPUI – 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 – @ Indiana – 6 p.m.
Jan. 2 – vs. UNO – 7:30 p.m.*
Jan. 4 – vs. SELA – 3:30 p.m.*
*denotes Southland Conference game
Nicholls senior guard Jeremy Smith makes a move toward the basket during a game this past season. The Colonels’ senior has been one of the team leaders in 2013-14. A former walk-on, Smith is enjoying a role within the team’s offense.
