When opposing teams scout No. 3 Ohio State, they seldom notice Lenzelle Smith Jr.
Buckeyes coach Thad Matta hopes they keep ignoring him.
Smith scored 19 points and No. 3 Ohio State pulled away early to beat Bryant 86-48 on Wednesday night.
“I think Lenzelle has been tremendous – nobody’s asked me about him this year,” Matta said. “But I think he’s playing at a very, very high level of being a complete basketball player.”
Smith, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who does a little of everything, hit 6 of 9 shots from the field including half of his four 3-point attempts. He had eight rebounds and three assists.
“I put a lot of work into my game offensively over the summer. And my confidence is off the charts,” he said. “My teammates are stretching the defense and are able to find me wide open. A lot of teams, for some reason, are (not guarding) me and I’m getting great looks at the basket. I’m just driving my legs and trying to get the most arc I can on the ball – and it’s falling.”
There isn’t much about Smith that grabs people’s attention.
Point guard Aaron Craft is the tough guy who may be as good a defender on the ball as anyone in the country. Swingman LaQuinton Ross is 6-8 with a velvet shooting touch. Sam Thompson comes off the bench to make high-flying dunks. Shannon Scott and big man Amir Williams are game-changing defenders.
And then there’s Smith. He leads the Buckeyes (9-0) in scoring with 12.9 points a game. He’s shooting 53 percent from the field, 48 percent behind the arc and 74 percent at the free throw line. He adds 5.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game – and may be Ohio State’s best help defender.
“They’re so talented. That’s what’s hard about playing them,” Bryant coach Tim O’Shea said. “Who do you really want to leave open? They’re just an elite team; a very, very, very elite team.”
Williams added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, who rolled from the outset of the early round game in the Blackrock Gotham Classic. It will conclude on Dec. 21 with the Buckeyes meeting Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden.
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