Smith In Fine Form At Las Vegas Basketball Tourney
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usWith two more years of high school eligibility, Jamie Smith is already established as one of Hawaii’s top girls basketball players, and she’s making herself known to mainland teams as well.
The Kailua resident and Iolani star helped drive the Hawaii Select traveling all-star team across the finish line in its 52-40 win over Silicon Valley (California) last Thursday in the opening round of the Vision Sports National Youth Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas. She scored a team-high 21 points and was a steadying presence for a team that ran its win streak to 19, dating back to July of 2004. Hawaii Select is seeking a third straight mainland tournament title.
“I felt great. I had just come from San Francisco where I played in a tournament with the Hawaii Raiders, so I am carrying on from that,” Smith said in a phone interview. “I didn’t have first-game jitters like some of the other girls might have had.”
Smith, who is 5-feet-10-inches, has started since her freshman year for Iolani’s Glenn Takara, and sees the mainland games as great preparation for her future. “In San Francisco, the competition wasn’t great, but it’s going to be a lot better here from what I’ve seen. The talent level in Hawaii is improving. We can compete with these teams.”
With her 21-point output, Smith has already become the “go-to"player on a Hawaii Select team with an all-star supporting cast.
“She had a monster game,” coach Chico Furtado said. “Jamie is real active around the basket. She moves well without the ball and when she gets it, she has the ability to weave her way to the bucket. Her movements are always under control.”
Smith spent her first two years as a post player at Iolani, but has seen her repertoire increase in Hawaii Select’s system, which uses the flex-motion offense.
“This will definitely help me when next season (with Iolani) comes around,” she said. “It helps me to expand my game. I’ve always been a post player, but slowly, I’m improving my dribbling and shooting. I have to.”
Although Hawaii Select has six returnees from 2005, unity was a priority in the weeks before its departure from the island. Smith is among several newcomers.
“At first the team wasn’t close,” she said,“but now that we’re here, we’re all getting along really well. We went to Circus Circus, (an arcade/carnival) together, and that has brought us closer together.Some of us went bowling as well. I’m pretty confident in this team.”
Smith was the only Hawaii Select player to reach double figures in their first round game against Silicon Valley, but Furtado also praised the play of Kylie Sato, an incoming McKinley freshman.
“She had six points in a three-minute span at a time when we were ahead by seven, so she gave us a lift,” Furtado said of Sato.
“Defensively, we did a pretty good job,” he added. “They had some bulk, and we fouled a little too much, sending them to the free-throw line 32 times, but we were OK.We had some first-game jitters, but the kids kept playing hard, and we were able to play through our mistakes.”
Hawaii Select was to meet Victorville (California) in its second round game.
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