Risco senior putting in the time to elevate already (very) strong game

Risco High School senior Sammy Smith looks for a pass in a recent scrimmage against Puxico High School at an event at Delta High School.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

DELTA – Being physically active might be a problem in the world of some teenagers throughout America, but that doesn’t include Risco High School senior athlete Sammy Smith.

“We’re going to baseball practice in the afternoon,” Smith said, “and I’m getting my (basketball) shots up in the mornings.”

Smith is a versatile and talented Tiger athlete both on the baseball diamond as a catcher and a “do-everything” guy on the basketball court.

He recently competed with his Tiger teammates in a series of scrimmages at Delta High School, where he was contributing in about every way that a player can.

The lanky athlete can handle the ball, he can pass, drive, can shoot, and he can rebound, oh, and his coach (Brandon Blankenship) said he can also defend pretty well, too.

“He is our leader on the court,” Blankenship said after watching Smith drop 33 points in a season-ending game this past March to Richland (Essex) in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 2 championship game. “He has an understanding of what it takes on both sides of the ball, offense and defense.”

“He gets in the gym in the summer,” Blankenship said of Smith, “and he has to continue to try to make others around him better.”

“Getting in the gym” hasn’t been an issue for Smith this summer. His father, John Smith, who also serves as an assistant coach with Risco, heads to the school six days each week for training.

“I kind of have a routine,” Sammy said. “But it is kind of what we want to work on that day. I try to get a bunch of shots up and get my heart rate up.

“We do some conditioning.”

A component of Sammy’s game that he is focused on this summer has been to drive the ball with “less dribbles.”

“I need to push ahead,” Sammy explained, “instead of a dribble by my leg if I am trying to drive by people. That creates more space, more time, and (gives me) more options.”

Risco won 23 games this past year, which was the most since the MSHSAA Class 1 District 1 championship squad in 2019, which won 24 games.

Sammy envisions the 2024-25 team playing “a little bit faster” than last year’s group, which should also be formidable.

“We bring back a lot of experience,” Blankenship said.