Upper Marlboro Product Eyes Pro Hoops Career

Chase Smith, an Upper Marlboro resident, feels he had the ability to play Division I college basketball. He was part of a strong program at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt and looked to attending college at Howard.

Smith made visits to Wingate in North Carolina, Bloomfield in New Jersey and Wheeling Jesuit in West Virginia. He decided to go with Wingate, a Division II program.

"They had a lot of winning tradition, which I was used to coming from Roosevelt," Smith told Patch. "They had a nice campus to go along with the basketball program. They had my major and they are close to Charlotte. I wanted to get away a lit bit" from home.

"I wanted to go Division I and I knew I was a Division I caliber player but I would rather be an important piece on a Division II team than just another player on a Division I team," he continued. "It really didn't matter to me coming out of high school."

Smith, who is majoring in sports management with a minor in communications, just completed his junior year and he was named the top defensive player for Wingate. He played in 28 games, with 25 starts, and averaged 23.8 minutes and 7.4 points per game, which was fifth on a team that was 19-10 overall.

Smith, who had 27 steals and 36 assists, was the only player on the team from Maryland. He averaged 17.4 points per game as a senior at Roosevelt.

A former Laurel resident, Smith attended Martin Luther King Middle School in Beltsville before his family moved to Upper Marlboro prior to his freshman year at Roosevelt.

Smith is a product of the Laurel Boys and Girls Club and was teammates there with Wesley Dunning, who played this past season for Hampton University. One of Dunning's teammates at Hampton was Kwame Morgan II, a Largo High School graduate.

Although he's not at the Division I level, Smith would like to play pro basketball, perhaps overseas, after his senior year at Wingate. Former Wingate player Lorinza Harrington played in the NBA and has played in Poland this season while former Wingate standout Sean Barnette has played in France this season. Eddie Basden, who played at Roosevelt, has played in the NBA and overseas.

"I feel as long as you can play the scouts are going to find you. If the opportunity presents itself I would like to play overseas," said Smith, who may also consider coaching or law school.

Wingate plays in the South Atlantic Conference. "A team from our conference won the region this year and went to the Elite Eight," he said.

When he was a freshman Wingate played Barton, which won the Division II national title in 2009. This summer, Smith has an internship in Largo with a company that trains pro athletes.