Coronado star scores full-ride scholarship

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By KEVIN STOTT

VIEW STAFF WRITER

She helped Coronado High School establish a reputation as a power in basketball and now she's headed east to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., to do the same.

Amanda Smith, a 6-foot-3 post player, became the first basketball player from Coronado to earn a full-ride scholarship to a Division I school after wrapping up her four-year prep career with the Cougars as a basketball and volleyball star.

Smith, who set school records in points (1,184), rebounds (795) and blocked shots (222) on the hardwood, was a first team All-Conference Southern Nevada selection this year and helped lead the Henderson high school to its first appearance in the state tournament as a junior in 2005.

She received offers from the University of San Diego, Santa Clara University, the University of Colorado, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, UNLV and Lehigh -- Lafayette's biggest rival in the Patriot League -- but said she had her mind set on landing a full-ride scholarship and attending a D-1 school.

The Coronado valedictorian, who graduated with a weighted 4.7 grade point average as a member of the National Honor Society and the National Charity League, said she chose to go from being a Cougar to a Leopard.

"When I went out there on a visit, I felt welcome. I felt like they wanted me and that I could help contribute to their program because it's kind of like the same situation as Coronado (being a new school), because this is their first year getting athletic scholarships," she said. "Because they've kind of been behind on their recruiting, now that they have the ability to go out and get better players with the incentive of paying for their education, I can go in there and help build the program so they can rise in the division. I felt comfortable there. The girls were great. Granted, it was far away, but it was just a good fit for me."

With its three tallest players listed at 6 feet, Smith will be a welcome addition to the undersized Lafayette team.

"They're pretty much lacking height," Smith said. "And they brought in me and there's another girl that's 6-0. And they have been playing all these other teams that have these girls that are 6-3, 6-4, that are banging us inside and we need someone else to bang against them so we can have a better shot at winning the game."

Smith said it felt great to be wanted so much by the Leopards and coach Tammy Smith, who is not related to Amanda.

"She was very inspiring. She was really trying to do anything she could to get me to go there," Amanda Smith said. "And she is so excited to have me. When I called her and told her I decided to come there, she was so ecstatic. That was another reason why I was happy with my decision, because they're excited about me coming. They see potential in me, they see me being a contributor. I was excited about that."

Sixth-year Lafayette coach Tammy Smith said she was ecstatic to land a big player like Amanda Smith -- who was recently named the Female Athlete of the Year by the Las Vegas Review-Journal -- to help build her three-guard motion offense around.

"We are very excited to have Amanda be a part of our college community and our basketball program," said the coach. "She, along with two other players, are the first recruiting class to be awarded athletic scholarships at Lafayette College. We knew she was a player, she fits very well within our system, and has the size we so desperately needed. We are thrilled to have someone who has been successful both in the classroom and on the court be a part of our campus and women's basketball program."

Along with the Coronado graduate, 6-2 forward Brooke Niquette and 5-8 guard Danielle Jenkins join the squad as new recruits. With only three seniors graduating from the team's 2005 roster and the ability to offer scholarships to lure recruits in the future, Tammy Smith and Lafayette may be able to improve on last season's 8-20 mark, which actually tied for the program's best record.

Amanda Smith, who averaged 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in her senior year as the captain for Coronado, thinks the Leopards' offense will work well with her style of play.

"I tend to like shooting from the outside," she said. "I don't like to just stay in the post, I don't like to just stay in the key. I like to venture out."

Besides starring on the basketball court for coach Joe Moyes, where she earned four letters at Coronado, Smith also earned three letters in volleyball and helped coach Jay Renneker make the Cougars a local powerhouse, leading the team to the state tournament this past year with teammate Sloane Williams as a first team All-Conference Southern Nevada selection.

For now, Smith will have to forget about volleyball and focus on college and making herself and her new school better in basketball. The first female athlete in Coronado history to earn first team All-Conference honors in both basketball and volleyball said she will miss serving and volleying.

"I already miss it," she said. "I miss my teammates especially because they play year-round. I'll miss the game, and there are some great memories I've had, but there's more of a future for me in basketball."

Smith said she also will miss the high school she has contributed so much to.

"I'll miss it. I've been in Vegas my whole life. I've never really had to change schools, so in high school I got to go to school with all my friends from like elementary school," she said. "And it's hard because we're all going our different directions. But I'm excited to go somewhere new, experience something else, meet new people. But I'll miss Coronado. I'm just thankful for all the memories I had there."

Smith, a Wendy's Heisman Nevada State Finalist and member of the Nevada All-State Academic team, said she was surprised to earn a full-ride scholarship for simply playing a sport, but said it required a great deal sacrifice.

"I'm proud of what I've done," she said. "But yeah, I was surprised at everything I accomplished because I didn't know there was that much to accomplish. It took a lot of hours, emotions, a lot of hard times that you'd have to overcome. But in the end, it was all worthwhile."

Smith said it was nice to become the first player at her high school to land a full-ride to a D-1 school.

"I was very honored. I loved playing at Coronado and I just hope that I'm able to represent them well when I go and play away at college," she said. "And I plan on coming back and sharing stories and helping encourage other girls to pursue their dreams as well if they plan to play in college."

The daughter of Fred and Nancy Smith said she's mulled a major in college but wants to try to stay close to the game that has been so good to her.

"I want to major in marketing and advertising, but my real ultimate goal when I'm done with my four years there, I want to get into coaching," she said. "Basketball has always been a part of my life since I was little. I've learned so much from coaches, like good and bad things, observed them and watched them, and there have been instances throughout my career where my teammates and I had to step up and make decisions, and it was like, 'I can do that. I have the knowledge to do that.' And I feel like I have so much that I can teach other people about the game because I've done this for so long and I've had success in it and I know what it takes to be successful in that. So when my four years are up -- and I don't plan on playing in the WNBA -- I don't want to leave the game because it's been such a part of my life. Coaching seems like a perfect job for me."