Flashback 100: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List
January 10, 2025
The list of NBA players who starred for MHSAA member schools is impressive, featuring names like Magic Johnson (Lansing Everett 1977), Dan Majerle (Traverse City 1983), Glen Rice (Flint Northwestern 1985), Rudy Tomjanovich (Hamtramck 1967) and Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill 1999).
However, one name stands above the rest in terms of scoring: Jay Smith of Mio.
Remarkably, Smith achieved his legendary point total a decade before the 3-point line was introduced.
During his four years at Mio (1975-76 to 1978-79), Smith scored an astounding 2,841 points. His senior-year total of 952 points ranks fourth all-time, while his junior-year total of 912 points sits in seventh place.
Smith also put up memorable performances, scoring 48 points in a 1978 District game and following up with a 47-point effort the next year — both of which remain in the top 20 for most points scored in a single MHSAA Tournament game. Simply put, no one scored as prolifically as Smith. His extraordinary career earned him the title of “Retro Mr. Basketball 1979,” awarded by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM). (Note: The Mr. Basketball Award was first presented in 1981, with BCAM later recognizing past players with Retro honors).
After high school, Smith played one season at Bowling Green University and three at Saginaw Valley State College. Upon graduating, he transitioned to coaching college basketball, serving as an assistant at Kent State and Michigan before becoming the head coach at Grand Valley State. Smith later guided Central Michigan to the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament, before losing to Duke. Currently, Smith is in his 39th season in college basketball, serving as the director of player development at Eastern Michigan.
And the next time you are in Mio, you can drive on Jay Smith Drive, located on the north side of town, off West 8th Street.
The MHSAA added a 3-point line in 1987-88.
MHSAA Career Scoring Leaders
2,841 – Jay Smith, Mio (1976-79)
2,789 – Mark Brown, Hastings (1982-85)
2,782 – Dylan Jergens, Marcellus Howardsville Christian (2016-19)
2,522 – Christopher Haas, Pellston (2009-12)
2,518 – Tory Jackson, Saginaw Buena Vista (2003-06)
2,490 – Mark Macon, Saginaw Buena Vista (1984-87)
2,462 – Drew Neitzel, Wyoming Park (2001-04)
2,449 – Matt Stuck, Manton (1989-92)
2,448 – Marcus Taylor, Lansing Waverly (1997-00)
2,421 – Marcus Matelski, Boyne Falls (2013-16)
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
(MHSAA archive photos.)
Boyd Finds Nothing but Net as Old Redford Earns Championship Day Debut
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2024
EAST LANSING — The day before his team’s Division 3 Semifinal against Riverview Gabriel Richard, Detroit Old Redford head coach Ray Reeves said he installed a new play for his team to run.
Lo and behold, Old Redford found itself running that play Thursday at its most important moment of the season.
The Ravens were trailing by a point with two seconds remaining in regulation and set to inbound the ball from underneath their basket.
The play was called “one,” mainly because it was one of five new plays Reeves said were installed.
“I was watching Auburn play and I saw (head coach) Bruce Pearl run it,” Reeves said. “I took it from him.”
That play ended up earning Old Redford a chance to finish this season “one” in the state, as senior Justin Austin inbounded the ball into the near corner on the left side of the floor to junior Arkell Boyd, who drained a heavily-contested 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Ravens a 43-41 win over Gabriel Richard.
Old Redford will meet Niles Brandywine at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in a matchup of teams making their first appearance in an MHSAA Final in this sport.
“When that particular play came at the end of the game, I knew what to do,” said Boyd, who was mobbed by teammates on the floor after the shot went in.
The win continued a magical journey for Old Redford, which earned a one-point win over 2023 champion Flint Beecher in the Quarterfinal and a two-point victory over Detroit Loyola in a Regional Final.
Expanding on his team’s run this season, Reeves said the pivotal moment came during a trip to Indiana earlier in the year that produced some roster attrition.
“We went to Indiana with 14 players and came back with nine,” Reeves said.
The roster cut came after what Reeves said were issues with overbearing parents, which he said produced a team meeting that lasted from 10 p.m. until roughly 7 a.m. the next morning in Indiana.
“We knew it had to change,” Reeves said. “You think as an adult it would sometimes get better because you are dealing with adults. But I realized it was getting worse and it was killing my team. We came together that night, and we haven’t looked back.”
Trailing 37-32 with 4:42 remaining, Gabriel Richard mounted a charge, going on a 7-0 run to take a 39-37 lead with 2:01 left following a 3-point play by junior Nick Sobush.
Old Redford tied the game at 39-39 with 33.8 seconds remaining on a steal and layup by junior Kason Mayes, but Gabriel Richard regained the lead at 41-39 with 14.3 seconds left with a layup by junior Luke Westerdale.
Following a timeout, Old Redford put the ball in the hands of Mayes, who was fouled on a layup attempt with 3.3 seconds to go.
Mayes made the first free throw and missed the second to make it 41-40 Gabriel Richard. But Old Redford got the ball back when the rebound went off a Gabriel Richard player, which set up Boyd’s heroics.
Mayes scored 16 points, and Boyd added 15 for Old Redford (21-7).
Junior Charles Kage had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Sobush added 13 points for Gabriel Richard (23-4).
“It’s tough to swallow,” Gabriel Richard head coach Kris Daiek said. “I thought our kids played hard. But hey, it happens. It’s March Madness.”
The good news for Gabriel Richard is that all six players who saw minutes Thursday are expected back to help the program expand on what was its first Semifinal appearance since 1989.
“This is an educational moment for my kids,” Daiek said. “It stinks now. I give credit to Old Redford. It was a great battle all the way down the stretch. This will build character and make us a little bit tougher.”
PHOTOS (Top) Teammates pile onto Detroit Old Redford’s Arkell Boyd after his game-winning basket Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Ravens’ Ja'Quan Stennis gets a hand up high as Gabriel Richard’s Nick Sobush (1) works to get off a shot. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)