Coaches: Please send nominations for the area high school basketball player of the week by noon each Sunday to Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.
Rhea County coach Tony Williams hoped that Jalen Smith was going to build on the second-half effort he put forth against Cleveland last Tuesday. Friday night, not only did he build on it, but he sealed the deal.
Smith had 33 points in the Golden Eagles’ 68-62 upset of Ooltewah on Friday night. He scored 20 points against Cleveland in a loss on Tuesday, but his 26.5-point average was enough to earn him Times Free Press Player of the Week honors. He also averaged four assists and three rebounds in the two contests.
Splitting the week gave Rhea a 5-2 record overall and a 2-1 record in District 5-AAA. Smith hit 11 3-pointers in the two games, and his effort against Ooltewah was 12 points higher than his previous career high.
“Jalen’s just a scorer. He has the ability to carry us offensively,” Williams said. “I knew the potential was there for him to have a big game. He’s had some tremendous halves, like the second half against Cleveland, but he was hitting shots in the second half of that game that he missed in the first half. I told him that if he came out with that same confidence, he could go for 40.”