The Big Interview: Arlington Head Coach Anthony Smith

Andrew Force February 24, 2025 @ 01:11 PM

PrepHoopsTN: What does RJ Tate RJ Tate 6'2" | PG/SG Arlington | 2027 TN do well?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: He can score the ball at all three levels. Gets to the rack. Shoots the 3. Pull-up game. His free throws are high 80's or low 90's. Plays hard. Team player. He can go.

PrepHoopsTN: When did you realize how good he would be at the varsity level?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: In middle school you didn't see it because he is such a team player. But he is a total team player. And we needed him as a freshman. He just stepped up and accepted the role. He is close to 1000 points already as a sophomore.

PrepHoopsTN: How tall is he?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: I want to say 5'9”.

PrepHoopsTN: How is he able to get his shot up over taller players?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: He has a quick first step. He is very explosive. He trains for that. Sometimes have to tell him to back off. He can go left; he can go right. I think he is slept on by a lot of people. This year is #8 in scoring. He leads the district in scoring.

PrepHoopsTN: He leads the district in scoring?!
Arlington Head Coach Smith: On MaxPreps he is 8th in the state and 1st in our district. It is tough if you are scoring against these guys. All of this height and athleticism in this district. And they are double-teaming him if he gets the ball. He competes.

PrepHoopsTN: Do you have any other players that impressed you this year?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: Rod Lucas. He is a freshman. About 6'5”. He is our point forward. He had an outstanding year too. He came in as a starter as a freshman. That was our one-two punch. He had a triple-double this year. He initiated a lot of our stuff.

PrepHoopsTN: What was best about the season?
Arlington Head Coach Smith: The foundation of the whole team. We won 8 last year. With the addition of Rod and RJ (getting better) this year we doubled our wins to 16.