Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month: River Valley's Carson Smith claims it for third time

rob mccurdy, marion star

Thu, Jan 25, 2024, 4:02 AM·5 min read

CALEDONIA — Winning a Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month Award never gets old.

"It’s special," River Valley senior boys basketball player Carson Smith said after winning it for the third time. "It’s really rewarding winning that. It means a lot. Hard work pays off. It’s definitely paying off right now in my senior year and last year."

Smith was a slam dunk winner for Marion County boys in December. He averaged 22 points and 7.5 rebounds over the month, adding 27 deflections and 20 steals over eight games. In the span, he put up scoring marks of 29 points and 27 points twice.

"He definitely has picked up where he has left off," RV coach Rodney Brown said of his All-Ohioan. "He’s not shooting the ball as well as he would like to or expected to, but he plays hard all the time. The kids still look to him as the main guy. He knows he’s getting all the attention every night. He does a great job of keeping his composure. He’s just a great young man and very deserving of the award."

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More RV basketball: River Valley gets back on track at Marion Harding in MOAC girls basketball

Smith now a senior leader

Smith has been a fixture in the lineup since his freshman season when he dropped 23 points on Shelby and 18 on Columbus East, playing alongside All-Ohio point guard Ethan Bell and sharpshooter Dylan Johnson.

In his career, he's played with other quality seniors be it Jevin Beard and Karson Lang when he was a sophomore or All-Ohio big man Carson Myers and Brock and Blake Mosher last year.

Now he's the senior leader.

"The team this year, we’ve been playing together since we were little, so there’s definitely a lot of chemistry with that. We feed off each other. My teammates are helping me. I help them. We are all helping each other," Smith said. "I don’t think it’s that much of a difference. I’ve been playing with these guys forever, so it didn’t seem very different to me. It is my senior year and it’s my last year playing. It’s the last year so soak it all in and have fun with it."

River Valley's Carson Smith shoots a jump shot at Clear Fork earlier this season. Smith was named Fahey Bank Athlete of the Month for the third time in his career, winning it for Marion County boys in December.

Rounding out his game

Smith is a shooter of renown, as he's set all the 3-point records at River Valley. But he's much more than just a jump shooter.

He's also a scorer, having set the single game scoring record at 48 points last year and leading the area in scoring at 22.8 points per game. He moved into second place on the school's all-time scoring list behind Danyon Hempy during the game against Bishop Ready at Ohio Dominican on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

As a senior, his game has evolved.

"Sometimes you feel he’s just a natural. He’s got great form, and he can get hit and hit a bunch in a row," Brown said. "He’s been doing a better job lately of getting to the rim and getting fouled. Recently he’s been shooting a lot of free throws in each game. He’s shooting 84 percent which is very good. He’s a little more aggressive going to the basket."

With the graduation of Myers and the Moshers, the 6-foot-4 guard has played bigger this season, although he doesn't feel like he's changed his approach.

"I’m just trying to do what we need to do to win really. I’m just doing as much as I possibly can to get the win," he said.

Smith is a bit down from the arc this year, shooting 30 percent on an area-best 42 makes, but he's making up for it by being efficient on the rest of the court. He's shooting 52 percent on 2-pointers and 84 percent on free throws.

"We’ve been trying to get him the ball a little closer," Brown said. "He hasn’t shot it as well as we planned on him doing. Some nights he’s hitting and some he’s not, so we try to figure out other ways to help him produce.

"Him getting all the attention helps the other guys, too. They get some open looks, too. Those guys play well off of him. He’s a good passer and hits the open guy when he needs to. He’s definitely rebounded better. He’s just over seven a game right now. He’s doing the other things when he’s not shooting well."

River Valley's Carson Smith shoots a jump shot at Clear Fork earlier this season. Smith became River Valley's second all-time leading scorer in boys basketball history earlier this year.

Adding up to wins

Smith and his teammates are again in the midst of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference fight. Two games behind Shelby in the loss column, they must play a key league game at home against Marion Harding on Friday and then at Shelby next week.

"Since we were little, we’ve been playing with the big schools and scrimmaging the bigger schools," Smith said. "We’re going to try to win out or win as many games as we possibly can. Personally, I’m just trying to help the team get to districts and win districts and see how far we can make a run in the tournament."

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