The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Janae Smith Continues To Grow In The Game Of Basketball
1/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Steve Irvine, UABsports.com
Janae Smith’s early basketball lessons came opposite of her three older brothers. Taking it easy on their younger sister wasn’t an option. Her brothers dished it out and Janae took it.
“My mom would have to tell them ‘She’s a girl, you can’t be rough with her,’” Smith said. “They were very, very aggressive with me.
In some ways, that still hasn’t changed when the siblings meet on the basketball court. But there is one big change from when Janae was young.
“Once I started getting older, I actually started beating the boys,” said Smith, who grew up in Matteson, Illinois.
One reason was a growth spurt that began around the seventh grade and didn’t finish until she reached 6-foot-2. She also used her skills, combined with what she learned while playing against her brothers, to plot a future that included basketball as a vehicle.
“After a while, I just felt like let’s make this into something,” Smith said. “I never thought I’d be playing Division I basketball and looking at a chance to play after college. Those were not my intentions but now look how far we’ve come.”
Her latest stop and the third in her college career is at UAB. This is her second year in head coach Randy Norton’s program but the first she can play in games. She sat out last season after transferring from Illinois State and the spent the year preparing for her final season of eligibility.
“Sitting out a year is always tough,” said Smith, who began her college career at College of Charleston. “But it was good. I learned how I was going to play, what I was going to do, what kind of role I was going to play on the team. I actually got to get into the system and actually learned how to play with what Coach (Norton) wanted me to do.”
Obviously, she’s comfortable. Smith, who started all 18 of UAB’s games heading into this week’s Conference USA matchups at Bartow Arena against UTEP on Thursday and UTSA on Saturday, is leading the team with 17.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She’s also the team leader in blocked shots (1.6 pg), steals (1.6 pg), assists (2.4 pg) and offensive rebounds (1.6 pg). She’s hitting 46.7 percent from the field, 35.7 percent on 3-point attempts and 85.5 percent from the free throw line.
Part of her success can be traced back to her growth from playing in three different college systems, even though that wasn’t her original plan. She figured the College of Charleston would be her home for all four of her college seasons and that didn’t figure to change after averaging 12 points and seven rebounds while earning Southern Conference All-Freshman honors in 2010-11. But a coaching change sent her packing for a trip back home to Illinois State, where she averaged 13.6 points and eight rebounds for a team that won the Missouri Valley Conference and played in the WNIT. Once again, though, a coaching change sent her looking for a new home and she selected UAB.
“From my freshman year at College of Charleston to Illinois State, where I was strictly a 5 to coming here to be able to dribble, drive, shoot,” Smith said. “Honestly I’m so proud of who I’ve become here, with all of my experiences. I’ve become a very versatile player. I remember at Illinois State, I was just happy to be on the block. If I look back at my stats, I don’t think I attempted over two or three 3s. To come here and to see I’m shooting almost 40 percent from the 3-point line, it’s ridiculous because I completely changed my game. I worked on it so hard last year with the coaches and I’m just showing improvement.”
Her collegiate career ends after this season but, in some way, basketball will remain a big part of her life.
“We never really want to grow up,” the 22-year-old Smith said. “I really wish I could play until my toes fall off. I love it. I think once you do this for so long, especially when you go up to the collegiate level, you can’t get out of it. I eat, sleep, dream the game. I couldn’t even imagine a life without basketball. I definitely will have to do something around it.”
