According to senior guard Ahmad Smith it takes “energy and a love for the game” to be a successful basketball player. Smith is currently one of the leading scorers averaging 21.4 points a game. His five years of playing experience and his scoring ability make him a great asset to the 16-5 Hounds.

“Ahmad’s role is to take over the game when he needs to,” sophomore guard Tyler Walker said. “He offers a lot of great things to the team, but mainly it’s his scoring ability.”

According to assistant coach Mike Nelke, Smith’s scoring ability makes him a standout player on the team.

“He can score in a variety of ways,” Nelke said. “He can hurt you from the inside or out and does a great job scoring off of offensive rebounds.  When he gets going there is not much anyone can do to stop him.”

As is the case for most athletes, hard work and determination have led to Smith’s success. He spent a lot of time in the summer working on his shot and getting in the gym. According to head coach Ryan Luhning, Smith has very little left to improve on.

“We need Ahmad to continue to score,” Luhning said. “But [we] also [need him to] improve his court awareness on defense and offense.  If he does that he will be unstoppable.”

Nelke also expects him to compete as one of the top players in the St. Louis area.

“To go along with his scoring,” Nelke said. “We also expect him to be a leader on the defensive end and be a great passer.  When he does those two things along with his scoring, he is certainly one of the better players to watch in St. Louis.”

Walker agrees that Smith’s style of play is hard to match.

“The thing that separates him is just his skill, plain and simple,” Walker said.

Smith’s favorite thing about playing basketball is hearing the fans. He is currently working to win districts and he plans to play at a Division I or II college next year.

According to Nelke, Smith is capable of playing at the next level as long as he finds the right fit.

“Ahmad is a very unique player in his ability to score,” Nelke said. “Most players you can label one way or the other, for example, a player might be a good shooter or a good athlete.  But Ahmad simply knows how to score and that is something you cannot teach.”

Smith scored a career high of 41 points in the 80-65 victory over Jennings last week. He is currently on the scoring leaderboard for St. Louis area high schools with 427 points.

Smith encourages young athletes to adopt the attitude he has taken.

“Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something, coaches, people, no one,” Smith said.