Last time Canyon Smith took a shot in a basketball game, he won a state championship for Republic. Next time he takes one, he’ll be a Bobcat with College of the Ozarks.
Smith signed this week to play at C of O next season. Bobcats coach Steve Shepherd says Smith’s winning habits are part of what he was looking for.
“How’s he going to fit and what is he going to do for us? He’s going to know how to win, I know that,” Shepherd says. “Two state championships … we hope that is going to rub off on our team. I want players who are not satisfied with where they are.”
Smith set a school record for three-pointers in a season as a senior at Republic, but he knows he’ll be starting over at College of the Ozarks next year.
“It will definitely be different, coming in as a freshman playing under guys who are bigger and stronger than me,” he says. “Hopefully I can keep the winning and bring it into the College of the Ozarks, where they’re already a good program.”
Smith says C of O was attractive to him because of its faith-based underpinnings and its work-for-tuition program. The school’s successful basketball program also played a role.
“Any college that has a good winning tradition like them, it definitely helps in the decision-making process. It was a big thing for me to know that they are successful,” Smith says.
Smith believes his experience at Republic, including two state championship games, will pay off when he gets to Point Lookout.
“Being in big games like the state championships, you kind of learn what to do and how to act in situations like that when it gets onto a big stage,” he says. “The basketball IQ is prominent when you get into bigger games like that. Hopefully I can act accordingly at College of the Ozarks.”
Besides experience in big games, Smith says relationships with his teammates are another thing he hopes to carry to college with him.
“Friendships. We always had a good attitude together. Hopefully I can take that and have the same thing with the new teammates I’ll be encountering,” he says.
Shepherd says adding smith to the Bobcats program is about more than adding a good player.
“It’s a unique time for me because I haven’t coached Canyon, yet. For us, you want a quality basketball player, but a quality person,” Shepherd says. “With Canyon, we are getting a terrific person who embodies all of the things we look for in a student-athlete.”
