March 1, 2012
Kenneth Smith is a talented freshman guard from St. Petersburg, Florida who is known by his nickname Speedy to the coaching staff and his teammates.
"I got my nickname when I was born," said Smith. "I came out quicker than everybody thought I would when my mom went into labor and instead of being born in the labor room, I was born in a hallway of the hospital."
At Boca Ciega High School, Smith lettered three years in basketball under coaches Randy Shurman, Neil Keifer and David White. During his senior year he averaged 18.0 points, 9.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
While he only competed in basketball in high school, Smith did play football when he was younger. He played quarterback but had to quit because of an injury to his left shoulder.
When deciding on where to attend college, Smith's choices came down to Louisiana Tech, South Florida and Wofford. After his visit to Tech, his decision came easy.
"On my visit to Ruston, Coach (Michael) White and I bonded really well," Smith said. "He basically told me how everything was really going to be if I came here. I also communicated really well with my future teammates which helped me realize that this was the place I needed to be."
One of the biggest adjustments that Smith has had to make moving from Florida to Louisiana is being away from his family and friends back home.
He has two older brothers, Dalvontae Coley and Azure Pride, and a younger sister, Aleruess Smith.
When Speedy gets a chance to go home he hangs out with his family and friends that he has not seen in a long time.
When he is not competing on the basketball court or studying, Smith hangs out with his friends and teammates, watches movies and takes it one day at a time.
His two favorite movies are Remember the Titans and Glory Road.
"Glory Road is one of my favorite movies because it showed how an integrated basketball team in the 1960s was able to come together as a unit and was able to win an NCAA Championship," said Smith. "The same with Remember the Titans except it was a high school football team winning the state championship."
Smith listens to Eminem, his favorite musical artist, because he says he is one of the best lyrical rappers.
"Eminem also showed that you can do anything you set your mind to since he is a white rapper while just about every other rapper is black," said Smith.
This season Smith is currently fifth in the Western Athletic Conference in assists per game at 4.3 as of game played through Feb. 25, which is also the most by a freshman in the conference. The four guys that are ranked ahead of him are two seniors and sophomores.
In the season opener against Mississippi College, Smith recorded eight assists and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the win.
He also nearly became the first Bulldog in program history to record a double-double with assists and rebounds against Northwestern State on Dec. 6. In the Bulldogs double overtime victory, Smith grabbed 10 rebounds while dishing out nine assists.
On Feb. 18 against Central Arkansas, Smith had 15 assists to set a new program record for assists in a game, surpassing the previous high of 14 assists set by Bud Dean at Nicholls State on Jan. 17, 1969.
For the season, Smith has 126 assists and 34 steals as of Feb. 25. He is one assists shy and seven steals away from surpassing the freshman school record for assists and steals in a season, respectively.
And just like his nickname, he is quickly becoming a Bulldog fan favorite.
