Prospect Spotlight: Luke Smith (2021 Willamette HS)
Back at the University of Oregon Team Camp in late June, one of the top standouts we saw for the first time and were impressed with was undoubtedly Luke Smith. The strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound combo guard simply took over games…
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Continue ReadingBack at the University of Oregon Team Camp in late June, one of the top standouts we saw for the first time and were impressed with was undoubtedly Luke Smith. The strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound combo guard simply took over games with his Willamette High School team and at times was flat out unstoppable on the offensive end. The rising junior knows his team needs that kind of effort from him and he’s been up to the challenge.
“I feel like I’ve needed to take more control than last year,” Smith said. “Last year we had a lot of seniors so I could lay back a little bit but this year I’ve got to take more control. My pull-ups, my off-dribble shots are mostly what I’ve been working on.”
When you first see Smith, you see the shaved head and a body that’s built almost like an offensive lineman and to be honest you expect him to be the team’s “muscle”. But when you watch him play, his game is much different. You notice that he’s light on his feet, sharp with the ball, and able to score in many different ways. He’s a deadeye shooter from long range, can create and knock down mid-range pull-ups, and take it strong to the hole where he is able to finish plays while absorbing all sorts of contact. He converted multiple traditional “and one”s in every game we watched.
While he comes from hoops blood – his uncle A.D. Smith was a Churchill legend and played at Oregon – Smith is still a bit under the recruiting spectrum. Only going into his junior year he’s got some time to make an impression, and he already has some goals – including a school on his personal radar.
“I want to play at a small D-I college – that’s where I think I will be best at,” Smith said. “I like Portland – they’re a small school and they’re in a good conference with Gonzaga and St. Mary’s, so they play against good competition. I’d like to keep it local.”
Smith didn’t play AAU basketball this summer, choosing to focus on working out individually and with his high school team. Don’t expect him to stop grinding at all the next few months. “I just want to keep working out and getting better for next season,” Smith said. “We lost all of our starters from last year so it’s basically a new team.”