How Mike Smith went from Ivy League star to architect of Michigan’s incredible offense
Mike Smith #MikeSmith
It’s not often a record-setting performance — in the postseason, nonetheless — flies under the radar.
Yet if someone asked people what they remembered the most about Michigan basketball’s 79-66 win over Maryland on Friday afternoon in Indianapolis, the answer would likely be the ejection of coach Juwan Howard and the sideline confrontation between Howard and Maryland coach Mark Turgeon — and not Mike Smith’s 15 assists, which set a Big Ten tournament record.
“The problem was we couldn’t guard them,” Turgeon said. “The little point guard was terrific. He was terrific the whole game. He totally controlled the game.”
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The grad transfer’s sublime performance carried his team through rough waters: First, an early 12-point deficit in the first half, and later, Howard’s ejection at the 10:44 mark of the second half. Smith, who led his team with 18 points on 6 of 14 shooting, either scored or assisted on 57 of Michigan’s 79 points. And he didn’t register a single turnover.
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“Mike played great today,” Howard said. “Being a floor leader, the primary ball-handler, a guy who’s gonna get us organized, he did a great job of reading game situations while making plays for himself and others, and to have a game with 15 assists and plus-minus of 23, it just shows how impactful he was out there.”
When Smith announced his decision to transfer to Michigan during the offseason, there were questions about how he would fit with his new team. Smith shouldered a heavy burden as Columbia’s primary scorer and passer; last season, he averaged 22.8 points and 4.5 assists while attempting 19.3 shots per game. Would he be willing to sacrifice his individual numbers to run a more balanced attack? And how would his game translate from the Ivy League to the Big Ten?
Friday’s performance was yet another reminder of the seamlessness of Smith’s transition. He is the primary architect of Michigan’s ball-screen heavy attack, probing his way into the paint and either dishing to cutting teammates or open shooters at the 3-point line. Entering Friday’s game, Smith was second in the Big Ten with five assists per game; his assist rate of 29.4 easily leads the team and ranks in the top-100 nationally, according to KenPom.com.
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Smith’s ability to create for others was on display against the Terrapins: His 15 assists led to 39 points, as Michigan averaged 1.32 points per possession.
“My teammates were just open, I was trying to make the simple play,” Smith said. “Wasn’t trying to force anything, they were making shots. When they’re doing that, we’re a dangerous team. Teams have to respect that we have shooters out there, they were making shots today, playing with confidence, that’s kinda what it is.”
Maryland was no stranger to Smith’s offensive prowess. In the two previous meetings this season, he averaged 13.5 points and six assists. According to Turgeon, the Terrapins tried adjusting their defense in Friday’s game — but Michigan countered.
“Juwan made great adjustments, started doing middle ball screens with him and he just got downhill,” Turgeon said. “He’s terrific. Understand that he’s an elite scorer. And he scored more today. But giving up his game for his team, that’s what great players do for great teams.”
Maryland assigned Darryl Morsell, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, to defend Smith. Although Morsell, listed at 6 feet 5, 200 pounds, had a significant size advantage, he struggled to contain Smith out of ball screens.
“Just like with their whole offense, with him being so quick, he catches a lot of his passes and all his stuff on the move,” Morsell said. “He’s never standing still. He’s sprinting out of the corner to the wing and coming off a ball screen. With him being so fast and the ball screens being so wide, it’s definitely a tough guard.
“But he’s a great player. He makes other people around him better and that system that they have is just perfect for him.”
While Smith doesn’t shoot with the same frequency he did at Columbia, he has been a more efficient scorer in his limited opportunities. Smith is now shooting a career-high 45.1% on 7.1 attempts per game, and has made 45.8% of his 3s this season (27-for-59), an 11.9% increase from last season.
Combined with his passing, Smith’s scoring ability can put defenders in a bind: He has the touch to score in the midrange if big men drop into the paint off ball screens. If teams switch screens, Smith can usually win the 1-on-1 matchup against a big man. And if defenders opt to go under screens, he has the shooting ability to make them pay — as he did to Maryland by making a 3-pointer with 3:36 left in the second half.
“I know he was getting downhill and Darryl was like, ‘I’m gonna go under this one,’ ” Turgeon said. “Great teams make you pay.”
It has already been an incredibly rewarding season for Smith, who had a combined record of 35-77 over the first four seasons of his career. Last week, Smith cut out a piece of netting as the Wolverines celebrated an outright Big Ten title. And his command of Michigan’s offense will, in large part, dictate whether he and his teammates cut down the nets again in the weeks ahead.
“Just going out there today, I just felt like the team needed to do a lot more and I was willing,” Smith said. “I told Coach from Day 1 that I was willing to do whatever the team needs, and today they needed me to score and to assist, and I think I’ve done that. Think I did that today, a pretty good job.”
Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Mike Smith went from Ivy League star to architect of Michigan’s incredible offense