Speedy Smith – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile

June 20th, 2019

Kenneth “Speedy” Smith

PG – 6’3, 180lbs – Born 28th January 1993

   Grand Rapids Drive   

With the exception of the very first few months of his professional career, in which he made an unsuccessful attempt to sign in Latvia, Smith has played the entirety of his professional career in the G-League, including the last two full seasons with Grand Rapids. He has been a sometime-starter, sometime-reserve for the team, a flexible and useful full-court point guard who has improved his own efficiency metrics each year of his G-League career.

The man they call Speedy – because he’s speedy – has good size and length for the point guard position to go with that. He is a reliable ball-handler, which is good considering he plays almost entirely on the ball. Not a good outside shooter at any point in his career – although improved slightly overtime – Smith is also not really the type of guard who will get beyond the first line of the defence, collapse and kick. He is instead the type to always keep the ball moving, create plenty of transition possessions, who is unselfish to a fault in the halfcourt, who finds the open man without forcing the issue, throws lobs and keeps the pace up. As a scorer himself, Smith finds it difficult to get to the rim and is disinclined to do so, shooting a floater when he does. But he does not look too score. He will only take the shots if they are really, really there. Instead, he is in to share the ball and defend.

Smith is an effective free-safety on defence, quite a strong player to go with his speed who is very pesky on the perimeter. He gambles well, and always seems to know where everyone is at all times, on both teams, on both ends. Smith may not always have the scoring skill to be able to do much about that fact, yet his awareness on the court and his unselfish mentality are virtues we wish many others had. The Drive quite rightly find him very useful to have.

– 20th June, 2019

• This above is extracted from the following page in the The Basketball Manifesto, an entirely free 3,775 page, 1.2 million word-ish basketball reference book which contains reviews, strategies, ideas, opinions, and a whole lot of scouting on men’s world basketball.

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