User:Cubbie15fan/Mark Smith (basketball)
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| Illinois Fighting Illini | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Big Ten Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Edwardsville, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Edwardsville |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Mark Smith is an American basketball player who completed his senior season for Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois. Smith has signed a national letter of intent to play at the University of Illinois in the 2017–18 academic year as a freshman.
Early life
[edit]Smith is the son of Anthony and Yvonne Smith.[1] His father, Anthony, played college basketball at Southern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville and his mother, Yvonne, also played college basketball at SIU Edwardsville.[1] As a child, Smith was a three-sport athlete, competing in baseball, basketball, and football.[2] While in high school, Smith participated in AAU basketball with the Ramey Jets United program through the Adidas circuit.[2]
High school career
[edit]During his junior year of high school, Smith originally committed to play college baseball for Missouri as a right-handed pitcher.[3] However, in July of 2016 Smith decommitted from Missouri given Tim Jamieson's retirement and because of an injury to the flexor pronator tendon in his throwing elbow.[3] Prior to switching his athletic focus to basketball, Smith featured a fastball in the low-90s and was considered a major league baseball prospect out of high school.[3][4]
As a high school senior, he led Edwardsville to a number one ranking in Illinois for the first time in history while averaging 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and was named to the first-team Associated Press All-state team.[5][6] Smith was also selected as the 2017 Illinois Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year and as 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball.[5]
On April 26, 2017 Smith announced he would attend college at the University of Illinois to play for the Fighting Illini under new head coach Brad Underwood.[7] In talking about schools he was considering through the recruitment process, Smith listed Duke and Michigan State as his finalists.[8] Smith also considered scholarship offers from Kentucky and Ohio State.[8]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Smith G |
Edwardsville, IL | Edwardsville | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 27, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 76, 1 (IL), 18 (PG) Rivals: 52 ESPN: 6 (IL), 22 (PG) | ||||||
Sources:
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References
[edit]- ^ a b Tupper, Mark (January 3, 2017). "Illini now chasing Edwardsville's Mark Smith". Herald & Review. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Helfgot, Mike (March 25, 2017). "Mr. Basketball of Illinois for 2017: Edwardsville's Mark Smith". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c O'Donnell, Ricky (April 25, 2017). "How Mark Smith went from potential MLB draft pick to a big-time college hoops recruit". SB Nation. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Landis, Bill (April 26, 2017). "Mark Smith commits to Illinois basketball over Ohio State, others". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Kvidahl, Dave (April 27, 2017). "Edwardsville's Smith lives out his dream, signs to play for Illinois". STLtoday. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ "2016-17 Associated Press Boys Basketball All-State Teams". IHSA. March 16, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Shannon (April 26, 2017). "Mark Smith, 2017's Mr. Basketball from Edwardsville, chooses Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Richey, Scott (April 26, 2017). "Smith: 'We're going to be really good'". News Gazette. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
[[Category:Living people
[[Category:Basketball players from Illinois
[[Category:People from Edwardsville, Illinois
[[Category:Point guards