BENTONVILLE - When Bentonville’s boys basketball team needs a big boost this season, there is nobody bigger on the roster than Ben Smith.
The 6-foot-9 junior came through with his biggest performance at a time when the Tigers needed it the most. He came off the bench two weeks ago and had his only double-double, scoring 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds in a 58-55 victory over Rogers Heritage in Tiger Arena.
“We would have lost that game had Ben not come out so ready to play and execute and get the rebounds for us,” Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. “He just really played great in that game.
“I think that’s what people forget about - we’re a team. Ben held us in that game, and we wouldn’t be doing the things that we’re doing had he not played so great there.”
Bentonville scored only two points and was in danger of falling into a big hole before Smith entered the game. He immediately hit his first shot, a baseline jumper, and he wound up with seven of his team’s 10 points in the fi rst quarter.
He then did all of his scoring before the third quarter ended as the Tigers pulled into a 39-39 tie heading into the final 8 minutes.
“It just started with my shots falling,” Smith said. “That led to gaining boards on offense and defense. After I hit the fi rst couple of shots, my teammates were telling me to shoot it. It felt really good.”
When Smith is on the court, he plays more than one role because of his height. Opposing teams have to use bigger players to guard him, and that can provide Bentonville’s guards with the space they need to drive through the lane for easy buckets.
If opposing teams don’t have that big player to guard Smith, then he can burn them with his shooting, which has become another effective weapon. He’s hit 51.8 percent (29 of 56) of his shots this season, and that rate rises to 65 percent (26 of 40) when he’s inside the 3-point line.
“I think my role has been magnified because I like to shoot the ball a lot,” Smith said. “In the game against Heritage, I was able to hit some of those shots and prove that I can play that role on the team.
“I think my strengths are on off ense, both running thefloor and shooting the ball. I still need to work on my defense a lot.”
Just because he’s the tallest player on the roster doesn’t mean Smith is guaranteed anything. He said he knew well before the season started that any playing time he received couldn’t be wasted, because he was sharing those minutes with three other post players.
McMahan also made it clear to those post players that the key to playing time was how well they did onthe boards.
“We knew it was going to be competitive,” he said. “The good thing about Ben is his work ethic, and he’s so determined.
“Where he has improved so much is as a rebounder. I’ve been pretty clear with those guys that play in the post for us is the best rebounders are going to play. Ben has been rebounding the ball consistently, and that has increased his role and his minutes.”PROFILE BEN SMITH
SCHOOL: Bentonville
CLASS: Junior
HEIGHT: 6-9
NOTABLE: Had his only double
double with 18 points and 13
rebounds in a Jan. 17 game
against Rogers Heritage. …
Averages 5.1 points and 4.0
rebounds per game and has
started three of the Tigers’ 15
games this season. … Is the
younger brother of former
three-time All-State performer
Nick Smith, now a freshman at
Belmont University.
Sports, Pages 7 on 01/31/2014