Sylvan Hills Coach Kevin Davis didn’t mince words when he described Nick Smith as being studious about basketball, but it was the prized sophomore’s role as a teacher that would carry the Bears to heights not many expected they’d reach.
“It was almost like having a third coach out there on the floor,” Davis said. “He wanted everything he was involved in to be at a high level. If that meant helping a teammate, someone on the bench, whoever it was, he wanted to help in any way or capacity he could in all facets of the game. You’ll see that sometimes in older, mature players, but it’s rare for a sophomore.
“He wasn’t afraid to hold not only himself, but also everyone else accountable for their effort out there. That type of leadership … it’s natural for him.”
Top-shelf performances were a natural occurrence for the 6-3, 170-pounder, who was selected as the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Boys Underclassman of the Year. Smith averaged 21.3 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals per game for the Bears, who came within a hair of reaching the Class 5A state semifinals a year after missing the postseason all together. Sylvan Hills went 20-8 this season and finished in a tie with Maumelle for second in the 5A-Central.
But the fact that Sylvan Hills was in position to even challenge for the conference title, let alone a state title, was astonishing considering the team lost two Division I recruits during the offseason.
Jalen Ricks, a 6-5 junior, transferred to national powerhouse Oak Hill (Va.) Academy and Javion Guy-King, a 6-5 sophomore, left for perennial Class 4A contender Mills. Those two, along with Smith and a host of others, were expected to put Sylvan Hills back near the top of 5A. Instead, Ricks and Guy-King’s departures left gaping holes in the Bears’ lineup and put a damper on the team’s overall expectations — or so it seemed.
“Me and Coach Davis had a talk the day after Javion left,” Smith said. “I told him we’d be straight, and that I would lead and do whatever he wanted me to do. People around us would say we wouldn’t win without those guys, that we weren’t as good and wouldn’t be competitive enough to win conference or state.
“But I thought otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, Jalen and Javion are great players, but it actually made our team better because we knew we’d have to step up our games.”
The Bears responded accordingly. After starting the season 5-3, Smith shifted into another gear over the next 13 games. He averaged 24 points, including a season-high 45 against Pine Bluff, to help Sylvan Hills go 12-1 during that stretch. A three-game losing streak followed, which Smith attributed to his team becoming lackadaisical, but he made sure it didn’t linger in the team’s mental Rolodex.
“We were back slipping,” Smith said. “We got too comfortable going into those games because we took them for granted and thought we just had them in the bag. But everyone in the conference was competing for a playoff spot, and that’s what we lost focus on.
“Coach Davis wasn’t happy, Coach [Roy] Jackson, our assistant, was yelling at everybody because he wasn’t happy. I was going at everybody because I wasn’t happy. DeShaun Fowlkes, one of our key seniors, was going at everybody because he wasn’t happy. In the end, we really needed that because it got our chemistry back.”
Davis said the way Smith was able to get the Bears to regroup just in time to make a postseason run was nothing short of extraordinary.
“Having coached this as long as I’ve coached it and watched kids’ highs, lows and valleys, I was really impressed with how Nick stood up to the challenges,” he said. “All of this while knowing every night, teams were coming after him. He was ringing the bell for us a lot of times, and he’d just answer the call.
“He gained his teammates’ respect early on, but I think they appreciated him even more because of just that leadership he showed.”
Smith and the Bears nearly knocked off Class 5A finalist West Memphis in the quarterfinals. Smith banked in a tough three-pointer from the corner late to send the game into overtime. The Bears eventually lost, but Smith wasted little time sulking. He immediately began thinking about next season and how he could help his team be better.
“I don’t want to use this as a cliche, but he is such a student of the game,” Davis said. “In any facet, he’s trying to learn. Looking at old videos, whatever. Next year, we’ve got a large junior class and he’s already started working with those guys.
“He’s already started putting in the work to say, ‘Where are we going from here?’ When he finds a guy that needs an area to be worked on, he’ll be over there working with him on that particular area. He’s just a special player.”
Smith at a glance
SCHOOL Sylvan Hills
CLASS Sophomore
POSITION Guard
HEIGHT 6-3
NOTEWORTHY A member of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Boys Underclassmen team as a freshman. ... Has scholarship offers from numerous Division I teams, including Arkansas, Texas, St. John’s and Oklahoma State. ... Finished with nearly 1,000 points total during his freshman and sophomore seasons. ... Added 46 steals and 14 blocks while shooting 52 percent on two-point baskets and 35 percent from beyond the three-point line. Also shot 85 percent from the free-throw line.