Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004 | 9:21 a.m.
Jamaal Smith's head is crammed with sound advice from some pretty reliable sources on how to be a point guard.
His father, Robert Smith, helped UNLV to the Final Four in 1977 and spent five years in the NBA. His coach, Kevin Soares, still holds the Big Sky Conference career records in assists and steals from his time leading the UNR Wolfpack.
Yet Smith's pedigree and mentoring do not account for his distinguishing characteristic -- the heart and hunger that helped him lead the Foothill boys' basketball team to its first Sunrise Region championship and trip to the 4A state tournament. The Falcons (SR-1) take on Northern champion Reed on Thursday in a semifinal in Reno.
"We all want that ring," Smith said. "One banner's good, but it's not going to do. We want two."
The "we" emanates from Smith, who seemingly manufactures energy on the court to fuel his total game of pestering defense, skilled ballhandling and zooming penetration. The singular goal that controls his thoughts, Smith said, is winning a state championship.
So focused is his thinking that Smith's thoughts after the Falcons defeated Valley on Saturday to earn a state berth were of concern that his teammates would still share his hunger for a title.
"When we won the region championship that night I kind of feared that (the team) would just be satisfied with that," Smith said. "But after talking to them for a while since Saturday, everybody's on the same page."
That unity is the heart of the Foothill team, which relies on balance and intelligence in the absence of overwhelming athleticism. Only Mike Roland, primarily a football player who is moonlighting on the hardwood, stands above 6-foot-3.
Smith headlines a core group of seniors including Chris Crunk, Chris Gillaspy and Alan Potter who grew up in the program and won a city championship at the junior varsity level two years ago. That group fills a number of roles for the Falcons, not all of which are glorious.
"We all know our roles and accept our roles," Smith said. "Last year, we had head cases who thought they should be leading scorer and have their name in the paper. This year, it really doesn't matter to any of us whose name is in the paper the next day as long as there's a 'W' next to Foothill."
Even now, that core is pleasantly surprising Soares.
"I'll be honest -- I didn't think they would do this well," Soares said. "I knew they would be pretty good because they listened and we had a very good point guard with Jamaal, which is a key. If you've got a very good point guard, you're going to be able to do some good things."
Smith led the city in scoring at 18.9 points per game and he scored 88 points in the Falcons' three region playoff wins. Yet he still says he would prefer to pass the ball more. No other mentality would be expected from the son of a point guard, especially since Jamaal strives to be like his father.
"It's just been a lifelong dream to follow in his footsteps," Smith said. "I try to do everything he did."
Smith said he has played basketball "since I came out of the womb." The Smiths traveled for Robert's career, as far away as Monte Carlo when he played overseas, and Jamaal has been around the game all his life.
Robert offered Jamaal advice about his game that not only helped the younger Smith become a better player, but also a better leader.
"In my past years, it's been hard for me to get ready for slow games, like the Vo-Techs," Smith said. "I would come out against the good teams and score 20-something, then come out the next game and score six."
"He told me that consistency helps you win. Your team can rely on you for consistency. I've been consistent pretty much this year."
That consistency tells the Falcons where the ball should go in crucial moments.
"Every team needs someone like that," Gillaspy said. "Everyone has a go-to guy and Jamaal's our guy."
Smith's skill is obviously magnetic, but his friendly personality is equally to credit for his position as the team's heartbeat.
"He's not big-headed when it comes to being around his teammates," Soares said. "He talks to every teammate. He genuinely cares about every teammate. There are a lot of guys who consider themselves superstars and are too good to talk to their lesser teammates. He doesn't do that."
Now, Soares hopes Smith is ready to earn one last term of respect: Champion.
"The thing that I've told him is, you can be a great player individually," Soares said. "But to be remembered, you have to win a championship."
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