The motivation behind Kobe Smith shattering the Andover Central basketball scoring record

For the entire winter break, 17 days to be exact, Kobe Smith had nothing else to think about other than exacting revenge on Maize.

Even though this year’s Maize boys basketball team is drastically different from the squad that ended Andover Central’s season last March, Kobe treated the mission, well, like his namesake would have.

Smith, an unsigned 6-foot-1 senior guard, needed just 19 shots to shatter the Andover Central single-game scoring record with a career-high 48 points to lead the Jaguars to a decisive 83-52 road win on Friday night.

“They sent us home on our home court last year, so I felt like I had to do something big,” Smith said. “It couldn’t just be a win.”

Andover Central coach Tyler Richardson confirmed it was not a coincidence Smith’s best game came against Maize, even though the Eagles graduated all five starters from last season.

“After the game I told him, ‘Congrats, you broke our school record. Did you expect that?’ He said, ‘Absolutely, I did,’” Richardson said. “He played with a chip on his shoulder tonight. We felt like we should have won that game last year and we haven’t forgot that feeling. He came out tonight and let his play do the talking and made sure that was erased in a sense.”

It was a virtuoso shooting performance from Smith, who shot 79% from the field and made 15 of 19 shots, including seven three-pointers, to go along with connecting on 11 of 13 free throws.

There were multiple shots where Maize defenders made a strong contest, only for Smith to elevate over them and sink the shot. There was even a corner three-pointer where Smith was fouled after the release, made the shot and finished the four-point play at the foul line.

“When I get in the zone like that, everything gets quiet and everything is so much slower,” Smith said. “When the game slows down, it gives me time to process things a lot faster on the court and once the ball left my hand, it just felt good like it was always going to go in. That’s when you start remembering all of the reps you put in the off-season and before and after practice.”

Teammate Brian Perry said he was anticipating a big game from Smith, not only because of the opponent, but also because it was the first game back from break.

“He was getting up like 1,000 shots a day during our break, so I knew he was going to play good tonight,” Perry said. “I know how much work he puts in when no one is watching, so it feels really good to see him have that kind of success in a game.”

The first minute of the game set the tone, as Smith stole the opening tip and scored a lay-up within the first two seconds, came up with a steal on defense, then buried a corner three.

Smith put on a dazzling display of shot-making, canning catch-and-shoot looks beyond the perimeter, but mostly creating for himself off the dribble and burying silky jumpers over defenders from the mid-range out to the three-point line.

He had 30 points at halftime and was pulled with 48 points with more than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Richardson pointed out Smith’s relatively low field-goal attempts show this wasn’t a ball-hogging, point-chasing accomplishment, rather one that Smith let naturally happen through the flow of the team’s offense.

“I never sit down during a game, but I almost found myself wanting to just sit down and just enjoy the show,” Richardson said. “The funny part is that Kobe shows no emotion. He wasn’t out there beating his contest. He was always onto the next possession. That’s one of the million things I love about that kid. He’s there to do one thing and that’s win the basketball game.”

Smith brushed off the importance of the scoring record following the game. Instead of gushing about any one of the highlight-reel jumpers he made, Smith wanted to talk about the dunk by Omar Alsmadi to start the fourth quarter following a pass he made when Maize double-teamed him on a pick-and-roll.

Individual accolades mean little to Smith, who is chasing team success with an 5-2 Andover Central team currently ranked No. 8 in Class 5A and rolling on a four-game winning streak.

“I got a lot of awards last year, but it didn’t mean anything because we didn’t make it to state,” Smith said. “I’m not going to sacrifice team success for my personal benefit. I probably could have (scored more) and I believe a lot of people probably would have with the hot hand, but at the end of the day, I want to be a good teammate. The only thing on my mind is winning state.”

Kansas high school boys basketball game scores

Heights 67, East 44

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 82, West 53

Northwest 38, Bishop Carroll 31

Southeast 75, North 64

Derby 55, Campus 44

Hutchinson 64, Maize South 55

Newton 66, Salina South 56

Andover 65, Goddard 35

Andover Central 83, Maize 52

Arkansas City 50, Valley Center 40

Eisenhower 32, Salina Central 31

Andale 44, Rose Hill 38

Collegiate 77, El Dorado 53

McPherson 68, Circle 57

Wellington 57, Clearwater 50 (2 OT)

Belle Plaine 64, Udall 38

Chaparral 48, Conway Springs 36

Cheney 52, Garden Plain 51

Douglass 46, Burden-Central 32

Ell-Saline 60, Remington 57

Haven 57, Pratt 39

Kingman 75, Nickerson 46

Lyons 47, Sedgwick 43

Norwich 47, Stafford 44

West Elk 78, Bluestem 25

Kansas high school girls basketball game scores

Bishop Carroll 74, Northwest 43

Heights 44, East 40 (OT)

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 65, West 22

Southeast 75, North 25

Derby 67, Campus 14

Hutchinson 56, Maize South 50

Salina South 36, Newton 30 (OT)

Andover 56, Goddard 26

Andover Central 48, Maize 38

Arkansas City 47, Valley Center 42

Salina Central 41, Eisenhower 40 (2 OT)

Andale 55, Rose Hill 9

El Dorado 40, Collegiate 35

McPherson 48, Circle 22

Wellington 56, Clearwater 34

Belle Plaine 54, Udall 40

Burden-Central 36, Douglass 32

Cheney 42, Garden Plain 31

Conway Springs 42, Chaparral 37

Remington 66, Ell-Saline 35

Haven 51, Pratt 44

Nickerson 53, Kingman 41

Sedgwick 51, Lyons 36