Athletic News

Summit native Wellington Smith overlooked by everyone but West Virginia teammates

By Brendan Prunty
The Star-Ledger
March 13, 2010

NEW YORK - When Wellington Smith came down with the ball in his hands at the end of regulation Friday night, all Da’Sean Butler could think was, “It’s about time.” That the one guy on West Virginia’s team who gets overlooked, undervalued and underappreciated finally got a chance to have his big moment.

But in typical Smith fashion, it was in the least sexy way possible.

“I just want to contribute for my team, no matter what,” the mild-mannered Smith said Friday night after the Mountaineers semifinal win over Notre Dame. “As long as I’m on the court, I want to contribute. Whether it’s rebounding, scoring points, assists, guarding my man — I just want to contribute.”

If there is an M.O. for Smith, it’s flying under the radar. On a team filled with players from the New York-New Jersey area, the Summit native is constantly the last guy off of people’s lips when they rattle off the Mountaineers’ metro-area stars. After Butler (Newark) and Devin Ebanks (Long Island City, N.Y.) and Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Darryl “Truck” Bryant (Brooklyn), the reaction to the mention of Smith’s name goes something like this:

Oh, he’s from around here, too?

Not only is he, but Smith is the guy that does all the little things that make his teammates look good.

“People definitely overlook him more than anybody,” Butler said. “He brings so much energy. He does all the dirty work. If he wasn’t here, we wouldn’t be able to guard any big person. Last year, he was the guy who had to guard (Pittsburgh’s) DeJuan Blair and (Louisville’s) Samardo Samuels and (Connecticut’s) Hasheem Thabeet Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Wellington Smith and Cam Thoroughman of West Virginia celebrate after defeating Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament. and everybody.”

On a team that has no shortage of players that can score, Smith is far from the primary option. He averages only 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, but it’s never been about the stats for him.

He doesn’t mind being the player in the trenches, as long as it means winning games. “He gets overlooked so much for what he brings to the team,” Butler said. “I feel people kind of take him for granted sometimes. Not our fans, because they understand him. But the people outside our program and outside of our state, they don’t know.”

This for a kid who eschewed signing with a college after being an all-Union County player at Summit High School to spend a year at Blair Academy. This in spite of a breakout senior year with Summit, which altered the list of schools interested in him from American, Maine and Fairfield to Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Rutgers and Seton Hall.

“I need to get a bigger body and mature physically,” Smith said in 2005 of his decision to go to Blair.

The choice paid off as the 6-7, 245-pound forward has become a critical part of the Mountaineers do.

That’s why when Smith came down with the crucial rebound of Tory Jackson’s missed 3-pointer on Friday night, the first guy to run over to hug him as the buzzer sounded was Butler. The fellow New Jersey native knows what Smith has brought to this team and loved that he had his shining moment.

“If he doesn’t get that rebound, (Notre Dame’s) Tyrone Nash scores,” Butler said. “He was that close to the basket and he scores that layup and we go into overtime. For him to box everybody out and get his hands on the ball, it was big.”

Just another instance of Smith flying under the radar.

“I just want to contribute and do well,” Smith said. “I may not be the best player, but I know that I know my role and what I have to do on the team. It’s just something that comes with the territory and that’s fine.”

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