Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412220062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's the number of points the 6-foot-6 forward scored. It also might be the number of Little Debbie Snack Cakes he consumed.
Those days are history. He weighed as much as 284 pounds last season. Now, Hokies coach Bill Foster says Smith even fits at times into a small forward spot.
When Tech opens its home season in today's 1 p.m. tipoff with William and Mary, Cassell Coliseum visitors will notice two things missing. One is the ``Metro'' logo on one wall - because the league almost is gone. Also lost are more than 30 pounds on Smith, who is down to 249.
His shorts are very baggy, and it's not just because he's stylin.' This season, there's more of Smith only on his sideburns. He was a good player before, but this is one case where less should definitely mean more.
``It was a challenge,'' Smith said of his weight loss that began about a month after the Hokies finished last season 18-10 but disappointed without an NIT bid. ``I could have been a better player. Coach Foster told me it was something I didn't have to do, but it was something that would help me and help the team.''
Smith weighed about what he does now when he enrolled at Tech in September 1992 from Fork Union Military Academy. ``It was like I reached my goal of a scholarship, so I slacked off,'' said the Gastonia, N.C., native.
He also began reaching for other things. Foster said one player once told him Smith ``could eat one of those supreme pizzas like it was an hors d'oeuvre.'' Smith doesn't deny that. ``Pizza, yes sir, I love pizza,'' he said. ``I haven't had one since the end of April. That and barbecued ribs. Now, my favorite meal is skinless chicken.''
He's also fallen out of love with Little Debbie. Smith estimates he ate a dozen of those cream-filled pies per week. ``It was that, and candy bars,'' he said. ``I really was kind of a picky eater at meals. I never ate many fast-food burgers.''
The skinny on Smith is that Foster and Tech strength coach Mike Gentry put the burly junior on the narrow to a straighter diet and narrower body. He ran with the football team this summer, three times a week in the afternoon heat. He also was introduced to the Stairmaster by Gentry, who made those fat-content labels on cans and bottles required reading.
Smith's father, James, also gave his prodigious son an incentive he could really chew on.
``My dad said he'd give me $450, cash, if I got down to 250,'' said Smith, who won't be tempted to spend his winnings on food. ``It's already gone,'' he said. ``I took the $450 and added some more to it and bought a CD player for my car.''
All of this is music to Foster, who needs increased minutes from Smith, if for no other reason than the Hokies have started the season with only seven available scholarship players. In Tech's 2-1 start last weekend in the Puerto Rico Shootout, Smith averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 35 minutes in hot and humid conditions.
Last year, he couldn't play more than seven or eight minutes without needing relief.
``Smitty's stamina and foot speed are improved so much,'' Foster said. ``I think he's seen he's a much better player with the weight off. And the 250 pounds he has now is more muscle. He's always been confident, but this has meant even more to his self-image.''
Smith also can move outside now - simply because he can move - and he's more interchangeable on the floor with wiry forward Ace Custis. From the four spot, Smith can take taller players outside and actually go by them. He couldn't do that before his waist went from 42 to 38 inches, his body fat fell from 24 to 11 percent and his vertical jump rose from 26 to 30 inches.
One thing about Smith hasn't shrunk. That's his politeness. Unless he's going for a rebound, he both begins and ends sentences with ``sir'' or ``ma'am.''
Just don't ask him to share a pizza.
by CNB