BigTime
The Red Wig
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From Espn. Source Link I feel good about the situation knowing that OU has offered, and that we are mentioned in the write-up.
Sounds like a good kid. Hopefully the sleep apnea treatment will help, and he will keep his weight down.
I would love to see he and Tiny team up in 2010-11!
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Josh Smith had Thursday circled on his calendar since earlier this spring, when he decided he was going to play football. Thursday was the first day the ESPNU 100 No. 1-rated center from Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., could pull on the pads and a helmet for the first time this season. He couldn't wait to hear the pads pop and lay some hard plastic again. What's a prized basketball recruit doing on the football team? "Having fun," said Smith, who last played organized football in eighth grade. "I focused on basketball once I entered high school but thought it would be a good idea to play during my senior year. "I'd been debating it for a while. 'Should I or shouldn't I?' I had a lot of emotions at first. When a friend and I began throwing around the football for fun, I felt the time was right. I never want to leave high school thinking that I should have played, so here I am."
Daryll Hennings, his AAU club coach with Seattle Rotary Select, concurred. "It's going help his strength, toughness and conditioning for basketball," he said. "You can't walk on eggshells worrying about your decision. There should be no regrets."
After a tumultuous summer, during which he had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids on June 22, Smith is back and slimmer than ever. After Kentwood's season ended in February, the 6-foot-10 Smith admitted "he stopped eating healthy" while his weight pushed 300 pounds. "I was pudgy; my clothes didn't fit well," he said "I told people I was around 270, but I fibbed."
Even ESPNU's Scouts Inc. analysts noted his added girth in June: "Although his game hasn't improved much since last summer, his frame is enormous and he is quite quick off the floor as well. He is still carrying too much weight … and that is definitely affecting his game." While he struggled with his weight, Smith also suffered from irregular sleep patterns. When he traveled with Seattle Rotary Select, he was known as the team's worst snorer. "No one wanted to room with me," he said. "I had sleep apnea. I couldn't breathe clearly, and after three minutes on the court, I needed a rest because I was winded. My nose was always running; I was always stuffed up." Smith had surgery for his sleep apnea in June and was on his back for a week. During that span he consumed a cup of gelatin, Gatorade and water. "You have no idea the pain I was in," Smith said. "I was spitting blood; when I blew my nose, nothing but blood that first week."
As his throat and nasal passages healed, he regained his appetite, but not before he dropped to a more svelte 270 pounds. After sitting out three weeks, a re-energized Smith took to the court again at the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, Ga., on July 13, where he faced Jared Sullinger of Northland (Columbus, Ohio), an Ohio State recruit, and the summer-circuit powerhouse All-Ohio Red. Smith scored 10 points in a two-point loss despite foul trouble, but it was Sullinger, who weighs in at 262, who provided positive confirmation. "I'll never forget it; Jared told me that 'You're smaller than me.' I never thought I'd hear him say that."
Kentwood football coach Rex Norris grinned when he saw Smith's smaller size. Early word from the Kentwood camp indicates Smith will be used as an offensive lineman or end. "Can you imagine throwing a fade to him into the corner of the end zone?" Hennings joked. "He'd be unstoppable in that situation or even as a rush end."
Smith, who reported to double sessions Monday morning, needs three days of practice before he's permitted to participate in contact drills. He'll also miss the opener on Sept. 4 against Central Kitsap (Silverdale). Under Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules, a player must complete 12 days of practice before he is permitted to play during the regular season. "Our first game is nonleague," Smith said. "Although I'd like to play, I want to be ready for the league."
Smith is concentrating on fitting in on the Conquerors' front line but knows his basketball recruiting will heat up in September. "I have no timetable or idea where I'll play in college," he admitted. All the Pac-10 schools, including nearby Washington, have offered. So have Duke, Louisville, Oklahoma and Texas, while Kentucky, Gonzaga and Kansas also are interested.
Smith received his first recruiting mail from Washington as a freshman and will be a four-year starter. He began his freshman season on the bench but after six games was promoted to the top-five rotation.
Hennings, Smith's AAU coach, believes UCLA and Washington are the front-runners. "I can see him staying on the West Coast," he said.
Last season, Smith earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 26.7 points as Kentwood (19-7) tied for the league title with Federal Way (Tacoma) but fell in the 4A West Central District tournament to Kentridge (Kent) 51-41. The point total was Kentwood's lowest of the season, but Smith recorded 18 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. The loss stung. Smith wept afterward, as the team fell one game short of the Class 4A state tournament for the second straight year. Earlier in the season, Smith torched Kentridge for a season-high 38 points in a 62-60 victory.
Washington prognosticators believe Kentwood, which returns a veteran squad, and Garfield (Seattle) are the state's top preseason teams in 4A. Coincidentally, Smith's close friend and AAU teammate, Tony Wroten Jr. of Garfield, also decided to play football this year. Wroten, a 6-5, 200-pound junior, is the No. 2 point guard in the ESPNU 60.
Smith is on target to become the school's all-time top scorer and rebounder, eclipsing the marks of Rodney Stuckey, who now plays for the Detroit Pistons. "Rodney is a role model," Smith said. "We talk and text. He always tells me to call; he's been very helpful with advice."
This summer, Smith concluded his club career with the Seattle Rotary, an organization that has produced Seattle-area products such as Aaron Brooks (Houston Rockets, Spencer Hawes (Sacramento Kings), Nate Robinson (New York Knicks), Marvin Williams (Atlanta Hawks), Jamal Crawford (Hawks), Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers) and Stuckey.
Hennings, who has coached grassroots ball since 1991, says Williams, Peyton Siva (a freshman at University of Louisville) and Smith are among his favorite players. "He's the same kid I knew as a sixth-grader," he said. "Josh has never talked back to a coach or snapped at a teammate. That not his makeup; he's even-keeled. His parents have done a great job. He's a gentle giant.""
Sounds like a good kid. Hopefully the sleep apnea treatment will help, and he will keep his weight down.
I would love to see he and Tiny team up in 2010-11!
---------------------
Josh Smith had Thursday circled on his calendar since earlier this spring, when he decided he was going to play football. Thursday was the first day the ESPNU 100 No. 1-rated center from Kentwood High School in Covington, Wash., could pull on the pads and a helmet for the first time this season. He couldn't wait to hear the pads pop and lay some hard plastic again. What's a prized basketball recruit doing on the football team? "Having fun," said Smith, who last played organized football in eighth grade. "I focused on basketball once I entered high school but thought it would be a good idea to play during my senior year. "I'd been debating it for a while. 'Should I or shouldn't I?' I had a lot of emotions at first. When a friend and I began throwing around the football for fun, I felt the time was right. I never want to leave high school thinking that I should have played, so here I am."
Daryll Hennings, his AAU club coach with Seattle Rotary Select, concurred. "It's going help his strength, toughness and conditioning for basketball," he said. "You can't walk on eggshells worrying about your decision. There should be no regrets."
After a tumultuous summer, during which he had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids on June 22, Smith is back and slimmer than ever. After Kentwood's season ended in February, the 6-foot-10 Smith admitted "he stopped eating healthy" while his weight pushed 300 pounds. "I was pudgy; my clothes didn't fit well," he said "I told people I was around 270, but I fibbed."
Even ESPNU's Scouts Inc. analysts noted his added girth in June: "Although his game hasn't improved much since last summer, his frame is enormous and he is quite quick off the floor as well. He is still carrying too much weight … and that is definitely affecting his game." While he struggled with his weight, Smith also suffered from irregular sleep patterns. When he traveled with Seattle Rotary Select, he was known as the team's worst snorer. "No one wanted to room with me," he said. "I had sleep apnea. I couldn't breathe clearly, and after three minutes on the court, I needed a rest because I was winded. My nose was always running; I was always stuffed up." Smith had surgery for his sleep apnea in June and was on his back for a week. During that span he consumed a cup of gelatin, Gatorade and water. "You have no idea the pain I was in," Smith said. "I was spitting blood; when I blew my nose, nothing but blood that first week."
As his throat and nasal passages healed, he regained his appetite, but not before he dropped to a more svelte 270 pounds. After sitting out three weeks, a re-energized Smith took to the court again at the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, Ga., on July 13, where he faced Jared Sullinger of Northland (Columbus, Ohio), an Ohio State recruit, and the summer-circuit powerhouse All-Ohio Red. Smith scored 10 points in a two-point loss despite foul trouble, but it was Sullinger, who weighs in at 262, who provided positive confirmation. "I'll never forget it; Jared told me that 'You're smaller than me.' I never thought I'd hear him say that."
Kentwood football coach Rex Norris grinned when he saw Smith's smaller size. Early word from the Kentwood camp indicates Smith will be used as an offensive lineman or end. "Can you imagine throwing a fade to him into the corner of the end zone?" Hennings joked. "He'd be unstoppable in that situation or even as a rush end."
Smith, who reported to double sessions Monday morning, needs three days of practice before he's permitted to participate in contact drills. He'll also miss the opener on Sept. 4 against Central Kitsap (Silverdale). Under Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules, a player must complete 12 days of practice before he is permitted to play during the regular season. "Our first game is nonleague," Smith said. "Although I'd like to play, I want to be ready for the league."
Smith is concentrating on fitting in on the Conquerors' front line but knows his basketball recruiting will heat up in September. "I have no timetable or idea where I'll play in college," he admitted. All the Pac-10 schools, including nearby Washington, have offered. So have Duke, Louisville, Oklahoma and Texas, while Kentucky, Gonzaga and Kansas also are interested.
Smith received his first recruiting mail from Washington as a freshman and will be a four-year starter. He began his freshman season on the bench but after six games was promoted to the top-five rotation.
Hennings, Smith's AAU coach, believes UCLA and Washington are the front-runners. "I can see him staying on the West Coast," he said.
Last season, Smith earned first-team all-state honors after averaging 26.7 points as Kentwood (19-7) tied for the league title with Federal Way (Tacoma) but fell in the 4A West Central District tournament to Kentridge (Kent) 51-41. The point total was Kentwood's lowest of the season, but Smith recorded 18 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. The loss stung. Smith wept afterward, as the team fell one game short of the Class 4A state tournament for the second straight year. Earlier in the season, Smith torched Kentridge for a season-high 38 points in a 62-60 victory.
Washington prognosticators believe Kentwood, which returns a veteran squad, and Garfield (Seattle) are the state's top preseason teams in 4A. Coincidentally, Smith's close friend and AAU teammate, Tony Wroten Jr. of Garfield, also decided to play football this year. Wroten, a 6-5, 200-pound junior, is the No. 2 point guard in the ESPNU 60.
Smith is on target to become the school's all-time top scorer and rebounder, eclipsing the marks of Rodney Stuckey, who now plays for the Detroit Pistons. "Rodney is a role model," Smith said. "We talk and text. He always tells me to call; he's been very helpful with advice."
This summer, Smith concluded his club career with the Seattle Rotary, an organization that has produced Seattle-area products such as Aaron Brooks (Houston Rockets, Spencer Hawes (Sacramento Kings), Nate Robinson (New York Knicks), Marvin Williams (Atlanta Hawks), Jamal Crawford (Hawks), Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers) and Stuckey.
Hennings, who has coached grassroots ball since 1991, says Williams, Peyton Siva (a freshman at University of Louisville) and Smith are among his favorite players. "He's the same kid I knew as a sixth-grader," he said. "Josh has never talked back to a coach or snapped at a teammate. That not his makeup; he's even-keeled. His parents have done a great job. He's a gentle giant.""
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