Summer Improvement: Jake Smith
Enka High School rising junior Jake Smith was one of the top guards in WNC as a sophomore this past season. He was able to make shots that many players his age couldn’t make and was skilled at passing and had a high basketball IQ. I saw Jake again on Sunday at Mars Hill University’s Elite Camp and he has expanded his game a great deal.
Smith spent this summer playing with Team South Carolina coached by Lamont Simmons and Mike Alexander. He made the trek to Greenville, South Carolina to be at practices and learn from two of the top coaches in the upstate. The type of players Smith went against in practice everyday and the schedule that Team South Carolina plays helped to push Smith to the next level.
At Elite Camp, Smith, who is now up to about 6-feet, was coming off ball screens, knocking down shot after shot. He had a stretch during one game of making five shots from beyond the three-point line in a row. He showed more aggression on the offensive end and defensive end. He is now finishing plays at the rim and almost brought the gym to their feet with a follow-up dunk that didn’t fall. He is showing a better ability to make passes that last year he wouldn’t have tried.
Smith will team up next season at Enka High School with Jay Walton, a 6-foot-4 wing who is very athletic and is only playing in his second season of organized basketball. Smith and Walton will make for a tough tandem in the WNC basketball scene. He will be relied upon to make the big shots that he was able to make last year but this year he will be guarded heavier. He has a chance to play in the Big South or Southern Conference with his shooting ability and size.