University of Colorado Athletics
Brooks: Haley Smith Is Definition Of 'Solid' In Every Pursuit
February 18, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Herbst Academic Center, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – Sometime in the next decade – possibly sooner – Linda Lappe will not be shocked if there is major improvement in prosthetics for athletes. Neither will Lappe be shocked if Haley Smith's name is attached to the breakthrough.
For nearly three seasons now, Lappe, the University of Colorado women's basketball coach, has seen enough on the court and off to never, ever doubt or underestimate Smith's abilities and determination. Add Smith's smarts to the equation and Lappe's vision of a brilliant future for the junior wing from Sammamish, Wash., slides even more into focus.
"She wants to maximize her basketball career but also her academic career," Lappe told me the other day after practice. "She has big goals, big aspirations and is not afraid to work really hard to get there."
Smith's CU hoops career has been on the upswing since she arrived in Boulder. But this season has seen her game's rough edges begin to show polish. Lappe's most apt adjective in describing Smith's play is "solid" – and she expounds on that description like this: "When you think of Haley Smith, you think of solid."
Beyond the court, solid still fits . . . maybe even more comfortably.
"It just all fits together for her," Lappe continued. "When I think of Haley Smith, I think of one of the engineering metals classes she's taking . . . she wants to be the best at everything she does. Metals class, thermodynamics, heat transfer, whatever it is – she wants to be the best in that class, to master that class just like she masters her role (in basketball). She understands the big picture, that this is not the end."
That big picture – the one after basketball – began taking shape during adolescence. Smith had a childhood friend whose brother had a prosthesis – "a rigid ankle" – but he continued to play most sports despite breaking his leg while sliding in baseball.
"It's weird thinking back on that," Smith said. "He was using his leg in sports, but it obviously didn't work out that well." Even then, Smith envisioned an opportunity to help someone who wanted "to be involved in sports and be active . . . making it easier for them is kind of cool I think."
She also draws on personal experience, recalling a knee condition called osteochondritis dissecans – "Part of the bone in my knee died" – that required hospitalization, surgery and rehabilitation.
THERE WAS AN INTEREST IN medicine even before she began battling that ailment, and that interest grew. "I was around that side of things a lot and I thought, 'Maybe I want to be an orthopedic surgeon,'" she said.
But that thought passed and was replaced by an equally strong desire to be in some other facet of medicine that still allowed "helping people in some way," Smith remembered.
Calling on her interests in math, science and engineering, she determined, "Maybe there's another way I can help out in that same sense. For me, as opposed to be the one who's actually operating on a person, it's really cool to be in the background but still be helping out in medicine."
Now a mechanical engineering major with a focus on biomedical engineering, Smith worked at an internship last summer in the Seattle area that allowed her to delve deeper into prosthetics, the materials used in their construction, and what ultimately is needed for her to enter that field and pursue her dreams.
But one prerequisite, noted Lappe, already is in place: "She's drawn to it as a selfless person, a thoughtful person . . . she wants to do something that makes a difference – and what an area to make a difference in."
For now, though, Smith wants to be a difference-maker on the court, and she's succeeding. Averaging 10.3 points a game (10.6 in conference), Smith is leading CU in field goal percentage (46.5, 106-of-228), 3-point field goal percentage (42.3, 11-of-26). She is second in rebounding (5.6, 6.3 in conference) and third in assists (1.6 a game).
With Smith, Lappe said, "You knew exactly what you're going to get. That doesn't mean she doesn't have bad days like everybody else and great days like everybody else. But you know you can expect her to give 100 percent, a great attitude. She's maybe our most coachable player . . . she takes criticism really well, puts it into play and understands. She's constantly wanting to get better and you have to really admire her for that."
Smith points to her overall consistency as probably her biggest achievement this season. "I'm getting six, seven or eight rebounds a game, hitting my open shots," she said. "Those are things I'm proud of but I'm definitely working on being a better defender, being more fundamental."
More than any mechanical adjustments in her form, an infusion of confidence has enhanced her shooting. A previous reluctance to take an open shot is disappearing. But she also says she has gotten better at being ready to shoot when the ball comes to her. Plus, she has improved at creating her own shot.
"I'm a little better now at coming off on-ball screen, hitting my pull-up (jumper) and getting to the rim," she said. "That's kind of the next evolution of my game – creating shots for myself."
Smith is not discounting playing professionally for at least a year after graduation in 2017. "I've thought about that," she said. "When's another time in your life when you can drop everything and go to Italy for a year, just play and get paid for it? It's intriguing . . . but right now I'm planning on graduate school and apply to schools in the fall."
She should be a shoo-in; she has a Chancellor's Achievement Scholarship, was a Dean's List member in the spring of 2014, and was honorable mention on the Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Academic team in 2015.
BUT LET'S NOT RUSH THINGS. Smith and the Buffaloes have four regular-season games remaining, plus the Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle (March 3-6). Yet her junior season could use an upturn before the balls and sneakers are stored.
Smith has averaged 12 points over her last seven games, with a high output of 18 against USC five games ago. The Buffs defeated the Trojans 66-63 – their only Pac-12 victory thus far and the lone win in their last 15 games. CU has lost four straight, dropping to 6-19 overall and 1-13 in the Pac-12.
The Buffs are at home for their next two games, hosting Stanford on Friday (8 p.m.) and Cal on Sunday (noon) at the Coors Events Center. Both games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Stanford is ranked in the Top 25 (No. 15), but it's not been a Stanford-type season. The Cardinal is 20-6, with four of the losses coming in Pac-12 play. At 10-4, Stanford trails conference co-leaders Arizona State and Oregon State (both 13-1) and UCLA (11-3). Cal, meanwhile, has lost nine of its last 10 and is 3-11 in league play (12-13 overall).
Smith contends the Buffs shouldn't be defined by their record, rather by the game-to-game improvement they perceive. "I think focusing on the way we're playing and how we're playing the game is more important to us," she said. "Coming out of first half in the Oregon game (CU was ahead 31-29 but lost 77-70 last weekend) we were talking about how we were playing inspired and how people watching would be able to tell what we're playing for, the alums would be proud, things like that.
"Little moments like that are important to us as opposed to the record and where we finish in the conference . . . . Other teams in our situation going into these last four games could be thinking, 'What does it matter? These games aren't going to improve our record that much.'
"But really it's all about the game-to-game improvement and going into practice every week and working on the things we've been struggling with, keeping up the things we've been doing well. We'll go into every competition knowing we're the underdogs and have nothing to lose, so why not go out there and give it our best?"
That's how Haley Smith is wired. And it's why at this time next year, when her final CU season is winding down, don't dare think you've heard the last from her.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
