Lake Country This Month

Page 8A • FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY APRIL 2014 at MERRILL HILLS MANOR Living Life The trusted partner in your neighborhood. A safe community for your loved one. MERRILL HILLS MANOR a Senior Lifestyle community 888-871-2237 3217 FIDDLERS CREEK DRIVE • WAUKESHA, WI 53188 An Assisted Living and Memory Care Community WWW.SENIORLIFESTYLE.COM 236487027 2 3 5 9 6 6 0 0 3 LAKE COUNTRY AESTHETIC MEDICINE John E. Kelly M.D. Cosmetic Surgery Board Certified Family Medicine Botox Juvéderm "Dermal Filler" Latisse • Facial | Dermatologic Products Wellness Weight Loss | Nutritional Products 237731010 Practicing Medicine in Lake Country for Thirty Years CALL For Appointment: 262-567-6927 www.kellymedicalservicessc.com 820 E. Summit Avenue, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin 53066 By Pat Neumuth Freeman Staff TOWN OF MERTON – Kelly Smith said one of her greatest memories of play- ing high school basketball was getting to play with her sister. Kelly doesn't get to play with older sister Jenny much anymore – not even a friendly game of 1-on-1. "We haven't played 1-on- 1 for a long time. Her main thing was she'd let me drive by and block me from behind," said Kelly Smith, a senior at Arrowhead High School. "I don't get to see her for a while on end. When she comes home, she just wants to chill and we do other things. Now that you brought that up, I want to play her 1-on-1." There's a reason why Jenny Smith doesn't have the time to play her younger sister: She's too busy playing basketball at Bradley University – a big commitment. Kelly Smith will find out in June what the commit- ment to Division I basket- ball is all about. After she graduates from Arrow- head, Smith will arrive on campus at Norther n Illi- nois University to work out with her new team. "It's a big transition," Smith said her sister's advice was about basketball at the next level. "Obviously, from high school to college, the speed and the strength and style of play, it's going to be a transition. "She also said the time commitment is a lot more, but I'm hoping that my experience in the weight room that coach (Rick) Witte has given me and coming from a solid pro- gram, I'm going to be a step ahead." The extra step helped her on the floor, as she was selected Classic 8 Confer- ence Player of the Year. She has also been selected The Freeman's Player of the Year. "I wasn't really expecting all of this," Smith said. "It's awesome, but I obvi- ously didn't do this alone." Smith is quick to say Witte transformed the girls basketball program when he took over before last season. Witte was a varsity assistant before being named the head coach. Witte said Smith has come so far in her development from sophmore year when she made her first start to her senior season. What Witte brought to the program was getting everyone in the weight room, and Smith has taken that to heart and gotten much stronger. "She feels confident in the transition (to college), because the weight room is important in Division I col- lege athletics for girls or guys," Witte said. "She feels at home in the weight room. On top of all that, she's such a competitor that the mental part of her game, she gets it. You need to struggle and she loves the struggle." Witte said on many nights Smith would be the biggest or strongest player on the court. His goal was to get her at least a touch on every possession because of that strength. That was a big reason in Arrowhead winning the Classic 8. "She was definitely the most efficient player I think that I've coached against," Waukesha West coach Mark Busalacchi said. "She did everything well, especially this year. We didn't have anybody who could guard her. I think one game against her she was 7 of 12 from the field with 12 rebounds, multiple assists, multiple steals – and she never turned the ball over." Those stats were pretty close to her season totals. Smith averaged 15.2 points per game and shot 52 per- cent from the field. She also averaged more than seven rebounds and had an assist-to-turnover ration of better than 2-to-1. But next year Smith like- ly won't be the strongest on the court. And she proba- bly won't be a forward, either. At 6 feet, Smith will most likely play a wing guard, and she knows ball handling is going to be something to improve upon. Despite playing forward the past two years, she played guard as a youth. In fact, Smith was one of the shorter players on her team until a growth spurt between seventh and eighth grades. After playing for- ward her freshman year on the junior varsity team, Smith was moved back to a guard her sophomore season to start on varsity. If some- one can make the transition, Smith can do it. "She's got a fire for it and a passion for it. If Kelly Smith has a passion for anything, it will do you best to get out of the way," Witte said. "She leaves in late June for NIU, and I think she's going to get a feeling real quick of how much work is cut out for her." She definitely made an impact at Arrowhead, turning herself into a lead- er. Witte said when she spoke, the girls would go quiet and pay such close attention that you could hear a pin drop. "The stats are something you don't want to lose because that's a lot of points and rebounds," Witte said. "I really do think, and you can talk to the other coaches, that's the least of what we will miss of Kelly. She was the unquestionable leader for us." Smith said she will really miss this year's Arrow- head team and will miss seeing her teammates every day. That could be a reason why she was still playing basketball with teammates just a few weeks after the Warhawks' season ended. "They become like your family," Smith said. As for playing against her sister in 1-on-1, if it doesn't happen, there's always 5-on-5. Norther n Illinois is just 125 miles away from Bradley. The two schools don't play in the same conference, but they do play each other nonconference every sea- son. Email: pneumuth@conleynet.com Sisterly advice helps to prepare Smith Arrowhead senior committed to play at Northern Illinois 2013-14 ALL-FREEMAN GIRLS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kelly Smith, Arrowhead Pat Neumuth/ Freeman Staff Senior Kelly Smith helped Arrowhead to a Classic 8 Conference championship and was selected the 2013-14 All-Freeman girls basketball Player of the Year. At a glance Who: Kelly Smith What: Arrowhead High School senior selected as The Freeman's girls basketball Player of the Year. Age: 18 Family: father, Mike, who works in insurance; mother, Kris, a medi- cal technologist; and sister, Jenny, who plays basketball at Bradley University Accolades: Smith was the Clas- sic 8 Conference Player of the Year and selected to the Division 1 all-state team. She led the Warhawks to the sectional final while averaging 15.2 points and grabbing more than seven rebounds per game. Future: will play basketball at Northern Illinois University Smith

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