City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADrobinson3)
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WARMINSTER — RJ Smith just fits in with Imhotep Charter boys basketball.

The 5-foot-9 point guard is a bundle of energy, a tenacious defensive presence at the point of attack for a team built on its ability to get stops. He got a taste of life with the Panthers last year, so giving him more of it was never in doubt.

Smith’s defense was there, and his offense picked up in the second half Saturday as the Panthers downed Reading 78-54 as part of the Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout at Archbishop Wood High School.

“We start on defense — when our defense is rolling, that’s when our offense is rolling,” Smith said. “We don’t even worry about the offensive part, but when we’re on defense, that’s when we’ve got to turn up.”

Smith, who netted all nine of his points in the second half, showed a bit of every part of his still-progressing game at point guard. He got to the rim, he found open teammates, he defended and he provided an outlet to Ahmad Nowell when Reading sent extra attention toward the UConn recruit.

Smith gave plenty of props to Nowell for being a constant voice in his ear, which Panthers coach Andre Noble attributed to the senior trusting his teammates.

“Some teams are trying to double Ahmad, which is leaving RJ and he’s made the right reads and right plays,” Noble said. “We’ve got other guys, we feel like it’s hard double ‘Mad because of who is on the court. Our guys have answered the call, and ‘Mad trusts those guys.”

Smith said one of the main things he looked forward to when he came to Imhotep was playing in big games and high-leverage situations. He had a good mentor last year playing behind Rahmir Barno at point guard, and with Nowell embracing him as a backcourt running mate Smith has earned his spot.

He also knows what’s going to keep him there. 

“Defense is my specialty,” Smith said. “My dad had me in the lab from the time I was younger, had me in the gym drilling in defense. I’m still working on defense, just trying to keep sharp.”

Smith spent a lot of his minutes in the second half covering Reading’s Jeremiah Camara. The Red Knights’ fearless freshman moved a lot off the ball, usually with Smith step-for-step with him and weaving through screens to do it.

It was telling that when Smith picked up his fourth foul with about 2:45 left in the third and the Panthers coaches took him out, Camara immediately got loose for a 3-pointer on the next possession.

“He guards,” Noble said. “We spend a lot of time on defense, so the fact he’s locked in helps our team. It’s part of our identity, defense is what we do.”

Nowell also did his part, scoring 28 points as the Panthers picked up the win in a clash of two teams that won state titles last year. Imhotep was able to match Reading’s physicality and weathered the Red Knights’ typically disruptive defense, closing the first quarter on an 8-3 run.

Nowell erupted for 11 points in the second quarter, including a thundering two-handed dunk off a steal, while Carbell Henderson netted nine of his 14 in the first half.

Yadiel Cruz led Reading with 20, Camara finished with 14 and Nick Chapman had 13.

Smith’s got the tools, he’s quick on his feet and his hands are blurs that frequently tip, deflect, knock away and ensnare the ball. 

It’s certainly an asset, but all the quickness and reactive speed in the world doesn’t matter if a player doesn’t want to use it.

“You gotta have a mindset for it,” Smith said. “If you don’t want to do defense, you’re not going to do it and you definitely aren’t going to be good at it.

“If you love it and have the passion, that’s when you take it and become good at it.”

By Quarter

Imhotep Charter: 21 | 14 | 24 | 19 || 78

Reading: 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 || 54

Scoring

Imhotep Charter: Ahmad Nowell 28, Carnell Henderson 14, Zaahir Muhammad-Gray 12, RJ Smith 9, Latif Lorenzo-Wright 8, Jeremiah Wright 4, Kody Colson 3

Reading: Yadiel Cruz 20, Jeremiah Camara 14, Nick Chapman 13, Weshly Rosario 3, Malik Osumanu 2, Xavier Beatty 2Andrew Robinson