Mr. Smith will head to Juniata
HUNTINGDON — Vinny Smith is not the type of basketball player who will allow himself to get comfortable — except when it comes to his college of choice.
Smith, the 2008-09 Butler Eagle Boys Basketball Player of the Year, will take his game to Juniata College next season.
"I felt more comfortable. I got to meet a lot of the players and everyone was nice," said the Mars High standout. "I really liked the atmosphere and liked everything. "
Smith, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound center, finished his career with 1,102 points, the third-highest total in the program's history, and recorded 789 rebounds.
He was a four-year letterwinner, and was the team captain and its Most Valuable Player last season, when he averaged 17.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
Smith also was a model of consistency with the Planets, averaging 9.0, 10.2 and 11.4 points per game his first three seasons. He appeared in 23 games in each of his four years and missed only one game each in his junior and senior seasons.
"Vinny is a great addition to our program," said Juniata head coach Greg Curley in a news release. "We expect him to add immediate depth to our front line and provide us with more athleticism and rebounding inside.
"Over time, Vinny has a chance to make a big impact on our program and we can't wait to get him in uniform," Curley added.
Juniata, a Division III school in the Landmark Conference, is coming off a 7-18 record, 5-9 in the conference, but had appeared in the conference championship game the previous two seasons and appeared in the ECAC Division III South Region Tournament in 2006 and 2007.
With a young team in place this year, Smith hopes to be playing in a hurry.
"We have six sophomores and four freshmen, so, hopefully, I can snag some playing time," said Smith, who said he has a list of things he needs to improve.
"I'll definitely have to handle the ball more and work on my outside shooting," said Smith. "The game speed is faster, so I'll have a lot of work to do before the season."
