Missouri basketball is on the rise thanks to newcomer Mitchell Smith. Last year, the Missouri Tigers ended the year with a bleak 10-21 record, but this year, with the addition of Smith, a 6’9”, 190lb center out of Van Buren, AR, the Tigers should compete for an SEC title. “Hopefully we can make it to the NCAA tournament and also do well in the SEC tournament. We want to have a better year than they had last year.” he said.

 

    Smith, joined by three other commits, should help bolster Missouri’s roster next year. With a high motor and an aggressive play style, Smith projects well at the next level. After choosing Missouri over schools such as Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri State, Wichita State, and Creighton, the Class of 2016 prospect, Smith is prepared to make an immediate impact in the NCAA. “Playing in the SEC is big, especially trying to get Missouri back on the winning side.” he said. “I know they’ve been struggling for a while, so I want to get up there and get things rolling again.”

There is no doubt that Smith is ready for the level of play in the SEC after playing in the Nike EYBL with the Arkansas Wings throughout his high school career. Playing alongside, 5-Star recruit Malik Monk, Smith was able to learn about the competition he will face next year. “We had a bunch of Division 1 players on the team last year. It was good playing against them, seeing the moves they make, and trying to mimic them a little bit.” the Arkansas Wings center said.

    Coming from Van Buren, Smith held an offer from Arkansas, but in the end, Missouri turned out to be the right school for him, saying, “ I just felt at home when I went up to visit.” Smith continued, “I liked the staff, and I liked the players when I got to meet with them.”

For Smith, the recruiting process wasn’t too difficult to handle, and with the help of his family, he was able to stay focused on improving, rather than getting too consumed with recruiting. “They helped me stay focused on what I want to do,” the high school Senior said. “They said, ‘It can be tough at times, but you have to stay focused and work hard.’”

However, it wasn’t just his family that played a large role. Smith’s high school coach Randy Smith was instrumental in making sure that Smith chose the school where he feels most comfortable. “My coach was always with me. College coaches would call him and he would let me know his opinion on what schools he liked. He would never make a decision for me, but he would give me his input on what he thought.”

 

    Now that Smith has finished his high school career, he has time to polish his game to prepare for the college level: “I’m working on my ball handling right now. That’s what I’m really focusing on, along with my perimeter game.” Drawing comparisons to Anthony Davis, Smith wants to develop a versatile game to create mismatches for fellow centers.

Throughout his high school career, Smith has been determined to continuously improve his game and is immensely motivated by his late mother. His mother passed away when Smith was only nine years old, and since then, he has been driven to play for her. “I’m motivated by my mom because she came to all of our games and always supported us. She loved watching us play sports, so I do it for her.”

 

    With his freshman year at Missouri coming up, Mitchell Smith continues to prove why many consider him to be a savior for Missouri basketball. Although he wasn’t a five star prospect coming out of high school, Smith is definitely a player to look out for in his class and now he’ll have the chance to prove that he can lead Missouri to an SEC title. Mitchell Smith is “Back on the Winning Side”.