‘I’ve found a good home’: Mizzou transfer Mark Smith exceeds expectations at K-State
Bruce Weber wiggles in his seat as he ponders the question.
Which Kansas State men’s basketball player has impressed him the most during preseason practices?
Weber would prefer to keep his answer as vague as possible. The veteran coach likes what he’s seen from the vast majority of his players. He would rather praise all of them than single one special contributor. But after a few seconds of trying to respond like a politician, he decides there is one player worthy of extra attention: Mark Smith.
“He comes every day with a great attitude and a smile on his face and wants to get better,” Weber said. “If there’s one player, he would be the guy.”
That answer came as a surprise to some. The Wildcats are returning two strong players in sophomore Nijel Pack and “super senior” Mike McGuirl. They also welcomed in impact transfers Markquis Nowell and Ismael Massoud.
Smith, a 6-foot-5 graduate transfer guard, never averaged more than 11.4 points in any of his previous four seasons at Illinois and Missouri. He only made 31.5% of his three-pointers last year, while averaging 3.2 rebounds and one assist. It seemed as though K-State added him for veteran leadership and size on the wing after DaJuan Gordon decided to transfer to the Tigers in a pseudo trade.
Few saw him as the team’s new alpha dog. But a change of scenery seems to have brought out the best in Smith, who has elevated his game under Weber.
“Mark is a strong and athletic wing who can really guard as well as shoot the ball,” McGuirl said. “More than anything, (I am impressed) with his physicality. He’s very strong and he can get rebounds that a lot of guys his size can’t get. He can get to the basket and make plays that are bigger than his size. So that’s what is most impressive about him to me.”
Smith began impressing teammates early on last summer.
K-State’s other transfers didn’t arrive in Manhattan until summer classes began. Not Smith. He finished up the spring semester at Missouri and moved on campus immediately. He wants to end to end his college career on a high note.
“I think I’ve found a good home,” Smith said. “Not everyone wants to transfer, because you hope the first (school) you pick is the right one. I just feel like this is the right fit for me with how it’s been so far. It’s been a great experience.”
Smith was also the first player to volunteer for grueling activities during a marine-style boot camp that Weber put the team through earlier this fall.
K-State players began looking up to him. He commanded respect as someone who has played in the NCAA Tournament.
“Being an older guy on the team, I really just wanted to lead by example,” Smith said. “That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. If guys need help, they know they can always ask me, and I always try to help them by trying to lead by example and working hard. I want to be vocal and encourage the guys when coach gives us a challenge, trying to basically do it how Coach Weber always talks about being mission-focused.”
Smith figures to play mostly small forward for the Wildcats, but he says he is also comfortable playing both guard positions and power forward in a small lineup.
He wants to help the Wildcats in any way he can. So far, he seems to be providing lots of help.
“Mark is full of energy every day,” McGuirl said. “You can count on him to come in and have positive energy and just play hard. It’s what we need. He’s been around. He’s played in the Big Ten and the SEC, so he has a lot of experience. He’s a really good player. He knows what he’s doing. He’s seen things that a lot of us haven’t seen. So, his leadership has been great.”
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 11:14 AM with the headline "‘I’ve found a good home’: Mizzou transfer Mark Smith exceeds expectations at K-State."