Final season ends well for Rebels’ lead scorer Smith

It played out nearly perfectly for Mac Smith, even if there were times when it did not seem that way.

The Vestavia Hills High School senior was forced to learn a new system with a new coach for his final season of organized basketball. Even though the season started off slow for the Rebels, they came together and advanced to the Final Four.

As a result, Patrick Davis was named coach of the year, and Smith was selected third team all-state by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

“Honestly, I was kind of surprised,” Smith said. “It was great to see that I was noticed as a player and that our team was noticed as well.”

Once the Rebels got rolling, they became a train that was difficult to stop.

“This year was everything I could’ve asked for as a senior season,” Smith said. “Our team struggled early in the season, mostly with turnovers and pace of play, but once we figured those things out and got more comfortable with our offense, we were able to play great basketball.”

Davis’ free-flowing offensive system fit right in with Smith’s skill set, as he took the mantle of leading scorer for Vestavia, pouring in 13.7 points per game. More impressive was his deep shooting touch, as he shot 50 percent from 3-point range for the year.

Even more impressive to his coach was the fact Smith also led the team in rebounding, despite being a guard. Smith averaged 4.4 boards per contest.

“I was pleased with his commitment to rebounding the ball,” Davis said. “That’s even more than points and was huge for me.”

Smith acknowledged as well that the game is more to him than just filling up the basket.

“Obviously, scoring is what everybody sees when they look at the stats, but I think my defense and rebounding vastly improved from last year,” Smith said. “I also felt more comfortable out there as a senior and a leader of the team.”

Another area where Davis made a great impact on Smith and the rest of the Rebels was their confidence. Once the players began to believe in the system, a Final Four run became more attainable.

“Coach Davis got us all to believe in ourselves and in the style of basketball that we wanted to play,” Smith said. “Everybody on our team was unselfish and was only interested in doing things for the good of the team.”

The Rebels set the bar high in Davis’ first year as head coach. After vanquishing area foe Hoover in the Northwest Regional Final after losing to the Bucs three times in the regular season, the Rebels gave Auburn a run for its money.

“The Final Four experience was awesome, and even though we lost against Auburn, it gave our team experience for the coming years,” Smith said.

Smith’s organized basketball playing days are likely done, as he plans to enroll at Auburn and pursue a business degree. But if this season was his last, it is something he can certainly hang his hat on.

“He definitely deserved that recognition, just as a great kid; he’s really unselfish; he’s a man of few words but definitely served in a leadership role,” Davis said.