Video Chat: Shaq Smith, Flint Northern

Tonight Flint Northern was scheduled to take on city rival Southwestern.   The Vikings hope to carry some of last week’s success into this week’s games against Southwestern and Bay City Central.

Last week the Vikings pulled off an unexpected win against Flint Powers and easily handled Bay City Western.  After a bumpy start to the season Northern seems to have settled down and much of the credit has to be given to the play of combo guard Shaquille Smith.

The 5-10 junior has the natural skills of a point guard but has been called upon to carry the bulk of the scoring for his team.  He is averaging right around 18 points a game. Shaq is tough to defend because he has a quick release and a solid shot to go with nifty handles that allow him to get to the basket.  But what is most impressive is Shaq’s craftiness that allows him to get shots off in traffic.

Northern has battled their way back to an 8-7 record, but with Shaq and a solid core of players around him I don’t think any team truthfully wants to run into the Vikings come districts.

Shaq first made a name for himself on the AAU circuit playing with Team Pride.  Shaq was the go-to guard on Pride’s 16-u team and even saw time on the 17-u team.

He is currently being recruited by Central Michigan and Miami (OH) but plenty of other D-1 programs are starting to take notice.