Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Related News

Senior Spotlight: ULM’s Daishon Smith Lived Up to the Hype

Senior Spotlight: ULM’s Daishon Smith Lived Up to the Hype

Men's Basketball Feb 27
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – ULM head coach Keith Richard sat at his desk one afternoon last September and made a confident prediction about senior guard Daishon Smith.
 
"There will be some nights when he'll be the best player on the floor," Richard said with a smile. "I think he's that good." 

In Smith's case, reality may have been greater than hype. 

The senior transfer from Wichita State packed a career's worth of highlights into his lone campaign with the Warhawks. Heading into his final two regular-season home games, Smith is averaging 22 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.2 steals and stands as one of the best free-throw (16th at .886) and 3-point shooters (10th at 3.6 per game) in the country.

"All last year, I knew that this year would be a big year for the team," said Smith, who has made 83 of his 200 3-pointers and has uncanny range. "I saw the pieces we had coming back this year, and I saw the pieces we were recruiting. I told Coach I was going to work hard to be a leader and hopefully get us to the NCAA Tournament."

ULM basketball fans will enjoy only one season watching Smith scoring baskets in bunches, but it's been a fun ride. 

"He has been exciting to watch and our team has been exciting to watch, in particular here at home," Richard said. "The explosive nights that he's had, you can't take that for granted. We don't see that all the time. Not a lot of people do. Not a lot of people see kids score in the 40s or the 30s in this day and age. He's certainly been electric at times, no question about it."

Smith seemed to work seamlessly into a lineup that already had established players like sophomore guard Michael Ertel and senior forward Travis Munnings. He respected their games, just as they respected and appreciated his contributions.  

"Daishon, I'm just really lucky to play with him," Ertel said. "I feel like we work really well together in the backcourt, and he's always supportive. He's always telling me to shoot it. And obviously, I have the utmost confidence in him to do his thing. I just love playing with him, and he's a really good teammate."

Smith and Murray State's Ja Morant are the only two players in NCAA Division I who are averaging at least 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game this season. ULM's one-year wonder has been a major catalyst in making the Warhawks an entertaining team to watch this season. 

"I've always thought he'd be a good player here," Richard said. "I thought that when I first saw him. I thought that when we lost him to Wichita State. I thought that when he played at Wichita State. I thought that when he practiced here for a year. I told anybody that would listen that he'll be a good player. And he has been a good player." 

Smith shines among Sun Belt peers and leads the conference in three different statistical categories: 3-point field goals made per game (3.6), free-throw percentage (.886) and steals (2.2). Smith also ranks among the league leaders in scoring (second), 3-point field-goal percentage (second .415), assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth at 1.9), assists (fifth at 4.0 pg.), field-goal percentage (eighth at .453) and minutes played (seventh at 34.2 pg.).

"He's been exactly what I thought he'd be," Richard added. "I thought he'd be a scoring combo guard, and I thought we'd be a good place for him because we'd let him roam between the one and the two. That's been good for him. What we do daily with our players has been good for him."

Slowed by a hamstring injury, Smith missed three games during the early season schedule but quickly lived up to his advanced billing when he returned. The Warhawks are 14-9 with Smith in the starting lineup and are 11-1 overall at home this season. 

"I wanted to give even more to ULM," Smith said this week before practice. "Unfortunately, I missed three games early in the year, and we had a couple of mishaps we shouldn't have had. The record doesn't speak to how good we should have been this year, but I'm glad that everything is coming along well and we still have chance to do something special."    

Smith introduced himself to the Sun Belt Conference by dropping 42 points on Little Rock in ULM's league opener. That night he talked about how he'd been waiting and prepping for his opportunity to shine for ULM. 

"Last year, I had to sit," Smith said. "I saw a lot of the conference. This year, I kind of know what to expect. Actually one thing on my agenda this year is to be conference player of the year. The fact that I've got that target on my back is only going to make me better."

The Jacksonville, Florida, product scored in double figures 21 times, including 13 games with more than 20 points. Even as word spread about the fearless 3-point ace from Monroe, Smith continued to scorch the nets while averaging 24.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists in Sun Belt games. He topped 30 points in back-to-back home wins over Georgia State and Georgia Southern, revealing after the second outing that his young brother died the same week. He marked those performances as a tribute to his late sibling. 

Asked to make a comparison a few weeks ago, former ULM coach Mike Vining likened Smith to L Club Hall of Famer Jerry Jingles, who averaged 20.3 points per game as a senior in 1975-76. Richard can see that too.

"A scoring, smaller guard," Richard said. "Electric at times. Yeah, Jerry Jingles."

Smith was patient in the year leading up to his ULM debut. He didn't check out but instead channeled his energy into getting better. 

"It wasn't that hard," Smith recalled about his year sitting out after transferring. "I knew the reason I was transferring. I wanted to come in here and get better and work on my game. I knew everything would pay off in time."

Richard first coveted Smith as a player after spotting him in junior college action and recruited him but instead saw him sign with Wichita State. 

"I personally picked Daishon out in recruiting," Richard said. "Sometimes, my guys will come to me with a guy. But he was a young man that I saw play in junior college and I told (ULM assistant) Ryan Cross, 'I'd like to have him now. I think he'd be a good player for us.'

"To make a long story short, he went to Wichita State. but he ended up back with us."  

When Smith was looking for a new home, he remembered his former suitor. 

"Coach Richard recruited me before I even took the visit to Wichita State," Smith said, "I knew the relationship was great. I knew if anything was to happen, he'd love to have me back. We kept a strong relationship and great things happened for the both of us."

Smith was a beast in practices during his year sitting out under NCAA transfer rules and sounded almost mythical when his coach described his exploits. 

"I have to give him credit," Richard said. "He's really worked at it too. Some guys take their year sitting out and take it off. He didn't. He stayed in the gym and is still in the gym to this day. That has paid off for him as well."

Opportunities to see Smith do his thing at Fant-Ewing Coliseum are running out. 

ULM has a pair of home games this week against Appalachian State (Thursday, Feb. 27) and Coastal Carolina (Saturday, March 2), then finishes the regular season on the road at Arkansas State and Little Rock before the Sun Belt Conference Championship. 

As good as Smith's story has been this season, he's aiming to help his team's story be just as memorable with a big final push.  

"I hope the 42-point game is not the only game everybody remembers me for," Smith said. "I hope they can remember me for more things and getting to the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully, we can continue to do great things and continue to win."

Said Richard: "In the end, I think he'll be glad he came here for one year. And we're certainly glad that he was here for a year as well."
 
Print Friendly Version