Ethan Smith became Union High School’s single-season record holder for 3-pointers two weeks ago, surpassing the previous record of 70 held by Cameron Cranston.
Cranston, the program’s career scoring leader and Class 4A’s state player of the year last season, never accomplished what coach Blake Conley and his staff witnessed during what’s called “3-minute shooting” at a practice not too long ago.
It’s purpose is simple: Shoot as many 3s as possible over a 3-minute stretch from a stationary spot.
Smith hit 49 out of 53.
“We saw it; we were all there,” Conley said. … “We have kids who can’t make 49 out of 53 layups.”
Practice aside, the 6-foot Smith is just as impressive in games. Thirty-two minutes of organized basketball seems as easy as hitting 92 percent of 3s in a 3-minute stretch at practice for Smith.
His 82 (and counting) 3-pointers is part of a magical inaugural varsity season as a junior. He’s averaging 14.2 points per game entering Saturday’s 4A regional game against Federal Way (24-1). Tip-off is at 8 p.m., the fifth of a five-game regional slate at Battle Ground High School.
Sharing Smith’s sweet spot around the arc isn’t exactly a secret. He’ll shoot from anywhere.
But for the record: “Top of the key,” Smith said, “because that’s where I shoot them the most.”
To understand why Conley already calls Smith the best shooter he’s ever coached, you first have to know where Smith was two years ago.
He was the self-described naive kid who assumed he’d make the varsity roster as a freshman. It’s the same kid whose once-funky shot is now fixed. It’s a quicker release, and thanks to patience, now is a multi-dimensional player.
That didn’t come without what Conley describes positively as an obsessive work ethic to be the basketball player he is today. He’s an all-league honoree who, if Union repeats its 2017 feat by reaching the 4A state title game next week, could come close to 100 3-pointers for the season.
Said Conley: “He’s just wired differently.”
And that started even before he entered Union as a freshman. Buried in Smith’s smartphone are photos of the program’s record board displayed outside the gymnasium. The same record board he saw when first attending Union games as far back as 2009.
Another happens to be a famous Muhammad Ali quote Smith draws inspiration from — “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ ” — that Smith recites word for word. That quote is his phone’s screensaver, and he can recite it word for word.
“I look at that everyday,” Smith said. “You have to work as hard as you possibly can. … “Eventually, you’ll get there.”
Smith has arrived, but not before a log-jam of shooters and a large senior class in 2016-17 meant tearing it up on JV, averaging better than 20 points per game.
But it was a blessing, too, since Smith could work on more than being a spot-up shooter. That, in turn, made for an easier transition to the varsity game.
And once there, the shooting skyrocketed, too.
The breakout game came Dec. 5 in a win over Evergreen. Smith had a career-high 27 points and drilled seven 3-pointers. Little did he know it became the start of something special. Since then, Smith’s had eight more games of at least five 3-pointers.
Senior guards Tyler Combs and Zach Reznick have hit 50 or more 3s since their sophomore seasons, and Smith’s addition makes for a trio that feed off one another.
“Practice are always super competitive and playing against those guys over and over and constantly going at it — that’s one of the things that helps us grow as players,” Smith said.
Conley describes two main factors that elevate a shooter into a good shooter. One, is repetition; Smith, for example, averages 450-500 shots per day, he said, starting with early-morning workouts.
And second is confidence. When Smith started 0-for-6 against Davis on Dec. 21, he never got discouraged. He kept shooting and finished 4-for-14 as part of his 15 points for the game.
But what separates Smith is not only adding another element to his game every year at Union, but wanting to know what he could do to achieve success, Conley said.
This season is the perfect example of that.
“Yes, there are goals kids want to achieve,” he said, “but Ethan went the extra mile to ask what it took in order to get there.”
