The Bay Valley Athletic League (BVAL) has a national 2013 prospect in Deer Valley's Marcus Lee. Junior Elliott Smith of Freedom may be the next rising star from the league. His Falcon team went 21-8 this past season and is expected to battle Deer Valley for the BVAL title next season as well.
At 6-foot-6 and 188 pounds, Smith is an athletic forward who has developed into a versatile player who has the size and length to battle post players but has enough ball handling skills and perimeter shooting to take advantage of smaller defenders. During the upcoming summer, Smith will play for his Oakland Soldiers 16U club.
As a 2014 prospect, Smith has been primarily getting interest from west coast programs but a big summer may propel him onto the national scene. Here were some comments from Smith about the conferences and schools that have expressed interest.
Pac-12 (Cal, Stanford, and Washington): "That's where I see myself most likely to fit in at. I like the up pace and flow of game with a guard and wing type of game. They have good exposure too."
West Coast Conference (San Francisco and Santa Clara): "West coast is a good conference and some good competition. There are some good teams on the rise and it has good academics."
Freedom Head Coach Drew Torres expects to build on a 21-win campaign from this past season. He has high expectations for Smith and says, "Elliot still needs to improve his outside shot in order to extend the defense. This will open up the drive for him. However, if he does not improve his shot, teams won't guard him on the perimeter making it tougher for him to drive to the basket. He still must get stronger so he can finish inside. Too many times he gets bumped on his shot and is unable to finish due to lack of strength. His game will go to another level when he adds strength to his game. The other aspect I would like to see from him is to improve his conditioning so he can play harder for longer periods of time. He is a player that I want on the floor at all times but he gets tired quickly and then I need to sub him out so he can catch his breath. He should also do extra sprints this off season so we can get more quality minutes from him."
Smith himself believes that Freedom will challenge for the BVAL next season. He believes the team chemistry will mesh better and that players will know their roles. In addition, he believes that Deer Valley lost quite a few of their core players.
Coach Torres recognizes Smith's role in next season's success. He says, "Elliot is a very talented player who has a lot of upside to his game. When he is playing his best, he is a great rebounder, is able to block shots, and can guard on the perimeter and inside in the post area. Offensively, he does a great job of attacking the basket and drawing fouls. He also handles the ball well in transition and versus defensive pressure."
Freedom loses point guard Jelani Hardaway but will have the services of 2013 prospect James O'Neal. But Smith will still need to showcase leadership skills. Coach Torres says, "He is a natural vocal leader. He was that way as a frosh on varsity the previous year. He is not afraid to confront his teammates if they are slacking off. He also does a great job of controlling the locker room during games. Also, he is a player who plays best against better competition. His game rises against the better teams and players. Lastly, he is a great 4th quarter player. No matter how bad he has played in the other 3 quarters, we know he will step up at the end of the game. He made a lot of clutch plays for us this season during the 4th quarter of close games."
Smith has many similarities to his BVAL rival Lee. If Smith has a great summer and successful regular season, then he could also break out on the national recruiting scene. Watch for this Falcon to soar higher in the next two years in Oakley (Calif).
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