The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2021 "Defensively, I needed to change a lot, for sure, coming from a school where I had to play so much offense that defense wasn't stressed," he said. "My offense was my defense at Columbia. Here, I don't rest on de- fense, because my offense isn't being used as much, nor needs to be. "Here, Coach always preaches, day in, day out, that in order to play at the next level, I have to become a bet- ter defensive player. With my height, a lot of people are going to say that. If I have the heart — and I have the abil- ity to play defense — why not do it?" It helps, Smith noted, having se- nior guard Eli Brooks locking people down. Brooks has emerged as one of the best defenders around, and that in itself spurs Smith on to emulate his tenacity. Plus, Smith insisted he constantly picks the brain of Brooks — some- times referred to by Howard as "The Professor" — for the finer points of defending in the Big Ten. Smith's biggest head-turner in switching leagues feeds right into the defensive ramp up. The Big Ten, he's discovered, isn't for the slow and slight. "It's probably how fast and how physical the game is, every day," he said. "It's fast-paced. You have to know your scouting report. Different teams play different ways, but the physicality and how fast-paced the game is, is really something different for me." Howard gives his import guard plenty of credit for making the trans- formation. "He was a premier scorer in his college days at Columbia," Howard said. "But he understood before he walked onto campus, in our con- versations that we had, that he was going to have to be one of our lead- ers on the floor and help others get better. He, of course, accepted that challenge." MAKING THE CONNECTION Smith makes it clear: the size of the chip on his shoulder matches the size of the target on Michigan's back, fol- lowing its hot start. He never reached six feet in height, and many didn't let him forget it. It affected the hoped-for embrace of recruiting suitors and fueled Smith's passion for taking on a challenge. "That's how I'm wired," he said. "I've always been an underdog all my life. It's good to understand: peo- ple are going to say what they want to say, but if you continue to work hard, you can prove anybody wrong. "You can do whatever you put your mind to." Recruiters weren't so sure, even after Smith finished second in the Illinois Mr. Basketball voting in 2016. He averaged 19.3 points and 4.0 as- sists as a senior at Fenwick High in the Chicago Catholic League. But too many pulled out the tape measure instead of the highlight tape. "Throughout high school, I wasn't really highly recruited by major schools, until late, until the end of my senior year," he said. "I ended up going to an Ivy League school, play- ing really well, and once I got out, a lot of schools reached out to me for my fifth year. "I was recruited by some Big Ten schools in high school, and then they told me I was too little. I was too small to play in the Big Ten, wouldn't fit. I've just always been the under- dog like that." He paused, allowing the sentiment to smolder for a moment. "It's fine," he said. "I'm not going to cry about it. I'm not going to wake During Michigan's 13-1 start, Smith dished out a team-high 78 assists (5.6 per game). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL