Pelham’s McKenzie Smith has developed into strong leader

PELHAM – McKenzie Smith has always had an understanding of the game of basketball. The soft-spoken Pelham High School forward has been playing since she was in the fifth grade and has been around the sport longer than she can remember.

The senior is the daughter of Pelham boys coach Laron Smith, who is partially responsible for her love of the game. Despite being the daughter of a coach, she said she never felt forced to play, but being around it so much helped her fall in love with it.

“I’ve got a better outlook on the game,” McKenzie said. “He comes home and he talks about the game with me, so I know exactly what to do.”

While Laron isn’t the coach of the girls team, he can’t help but give McKenzie pointers after her games. McKenzie thinks the extra help has benefited her on the court.

She said her first memory involving basketball is when she would ride the bus with her dad and his team to games as a youngster.

“I would watch him coach, and I was always around the players,” she said. “It was really fun. You got to see the players in a different environment. I was little, so I didn’t really know them like that then.”

While her father instilled the basics of the game, the Pelham coaching staff has helped her grow as a player. Smith is a four-year varsity player who has contributed every year. Last season, she averaged six points and eight rebounds per game, and she has been one of the Lady Hornets’ most consistent players this year.

She has also developed into a leader for Pelham but not in the traditional sense. Smith is not one to yell at a teammate when a mistake is made, but her on-court performance and hustle help set the pace.

“I rely on all my seniors for leadership, in particular McKenzie,” Pelham girls coach Antonia Tookes said. “She is a great leader because she leads by example. She doesn’t say a whole lot, but she goes hard, she does her work and she is a good kid.”

Smith worked her way into the starting lineup this season and has provided a much-needed spark in the rebounding department for the 13-1 Lady Hornets.

“She’s been consistently getting rebounds for us,” Tookes said. “She is really coming on rebounding. She’s been in double figures in rebounds the past three or four games for us. That is where she thrives for us — getting those rebounds.”

Tookes couldn’t put her finger on what makes the quiet forward a good rebounder, but she took a couple of guesses.

“I think that is just what she loves to do,” she said. “She has a nose for the ball, and usually when the ball comes off the rim and she is on that side, she is going to get it. It is just motivation for her. She said ‘Coach, I’m all about rebound.’ That is defense. That is all about defense.”

The hustle and effort Smith displays on a game-to-game basis could be just what Pelham needs to make a deep playoff run.