by Adrian Doerfler
Daily Lobo
Every time the UNM basketball team finds itself on a fast break, senior guard Jamaal Smith is always a part of it.
Whether he starts it or ends it, he's always there.
Smith is the Lobos' fastest player this season and has been a huge part of the team's 7-0 start.
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In Wednesday's 57-48 win over Southern Utah, the Lobos struggled early, but Smith elevated the game with high-energy play offensively and defensively.
"Jamaal gave us a huge lift in the second half," head coach Steve Alford said. "He keyed the run that led us to the win. He got his shot off and got the ball to the people who had the open shot."
Smith - at only 5 feet 9 inches - is shooting 60 percent from the field and is third in scoring on the team, averaging 10 points
per game.
Even though he is almost always the smallest player on the court, he said he sees no difference between himself and the next basketball player.
"I've been playing small all my life, so it's nothing new to me," Smith said. "I don't really find a way to do things different because of my size. I do try to offset things with my speed and quick shot, but I don't feel any different from a guy 6 (foot) 5 (inches) or 6 (foot) 6 (inches)."
Smith came to UNM as a junior college transfer after he was a
first-team NJCAA Division All-American at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.
Last year, in his first year at UNM, he averaged eight points and 1.9 assists per game. Smith's statistics are higher this year in almost every major statistical
category.
He said the presence of the new coaching staff has been beneficial to him.
"It's been real different between this year's team and last year's," Smith said. "It's been a 180-degree turnaround. From the coaching staff to the type of basketball we play has been different."
When Alford was hired last spring, Smith said the change was going to be for the better. And so far, Alford has lived up to
the hype.
"Coach Alford is the coach that we needed here," Smith said. "When he came in, it was exciting because he is a college basketball legend and kind of a celebrity at the same time. You have to respect him because of his basketball history."
Alford played in the NBA for four seasons, but having a former NBA player to look up to in Smith's life isn't anything new to him, he said.
Smith's father played in the NBA for seven seasons.
He said having someone that close to him who played
professionally helps him develop as a player.
"I look to him for advice on the court as well as off the court," Smith said. "He tells me that hard work will take me far. He tells me to go out and play hard every time on the floor, stay focused and lead the team to victory."
Men's basketball at Mississippi
Saturday, noon
Oxford, Miss.
