Smith commits to MSU -- politely

Add "courteous" to the words that describe Kelsey Smith, a senior on the St. Charles North girls basketball team.

Smith, a 6-foot-4 center, was pursued by many Division I schools to play collegiate basketball.

The Daily Herald's All-Area captain from the Tri-Cities has made her choice -- Michigan State.

Earlier this week, Smith decided to verbally commit to the Spartans for the 2009-10 season.

So why is she so courteous? She took the time to call the colleges -- about 10 or so -- that already made her offers or were highly interested. She wanted to let them know of her decision.

"Most of the coaches were really supportive and nice," Smith said. "They really appreciated me calling."

She chose Michigan State over Marquette and Wisconsin.

"Obviously, I'm very excited," Smith said. "I did my homework and research and it got to the point where I had to make a decision."

As a junior, Smith, a three-year varsity starter, led the North Stars with 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds a game while guiding the team to first-ever regional and sectional titles.

She was an all-state honorable-mention selection who has eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her high school career.

On Tuesday, Smith departs for France to compete in a tournament -- the Reze Baskets International with the Blue Stars Select -- a team made up of some of the best girls basketball players in the United States.

The Philadelphia-based team is coached by Mike Flynn, Theresa Grentz and Tony Pappas and will be playing teams from Croatia, France, Poland, Turkey, Lithuania, Australia and the Czech Republic.

The team will play in Reze for four days and will spend the remainder of the week in Paris. Smith's mom, Carin, is accompanying her on the trip.

"We are counting down the days," Smith said.