Smith's clinic designed to offer special message

Just a teenager, Lenzelle Smith not only has a plan, he's already got a backup plan.

"I know that one day the ball is going to stop bouncing," said Smith, a senior at Zion-Benton and one of the best basketball players in Lake County.

Currently averaging nearly a triple-double, he will be playing basketball on scholarship next year at Ohio State.

"Anyone who plays a sport wants something that will separate them," Smith said. "I figure why not have it be education for me."

Smith, a National Honor Society student who has maintained a 4.0 grade point average every semester of his high school career and is currently riding a 4.1 GPA, certainly stands out from the crowd.

"I'm so competitive that I'm always trying to be the best player and get the best grades," said Smith, who is interested in pursuing sports management as a career. "I'm proud of everything I've done with basketball and with school, but I think, in the long run, my academics are probably going to pay off more."

That's going to be the crux of Smith's message on Saturday as he uses his platform as a future Division I student-athlete to push the importance of the word student in student-athlete. He and several of his favorite adversaries from the hardwood will be hosting a free basketball clinic for grade school boys at Zion-Benton High School.

The clinic, which is sponsored by Joy of the Game and runs from 9 a.m.-noon, is a lot like Smith in that it will separate itself from other basketball clinics. Open to all boys in third through eighth grades, but specifically targeting those from the towns of Zion, Waukegan and North Chicago, basketball is just one of the many items on the day's agenda.

Smith, who came up with the idea for the clinic and has handled many of the details, will team up with Waukegan's Mike Springs, North Chicago's Mike Simpson and Ben Brust of Mundelein to talk with the boys about everything from academics to making good choices and eating properly.

Hence, the official name of the clinic: Joy of the Game Foundation Basketball and Life Skills Clinic.

"The hope is to get kids in that area to see the big picture and get a positive message, and basketball is a tool to get them through the door," said Michael Weinstein, CEO and founder of Joy of the Game, a youth basketball club located in Deerfield. "I just think it's really great that all of these guys want to give back like this. These guys are seniors in high school. A lot of seniors are usually done by now, checked out. To spearhead a clinic like this is pretty unique."

It wasn't a stretch for Smith, the son of a youth minister (Lenzelle Sr.) who has been poignantly inspired by the charitable environment in his own home.

He says he's wanted to host a life skills basketball clinic for quite some time. But when he realized that National Honor Society students are required to plan a community-based event, that was just the push he needed.

"A lot of people don't realize that if you want to be a good basketball player, there's another side to what you do on the court. That's your life outside of basketball," said Smith, who is currently averaging about 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists per game for the Zee-Bees. "You've got your grades, your life at home, your life at school with your friends. You've got nutrition issues. If you're struggling with any of those things, that's going to keep your mind from helping you be the best you can be.

"I've always wanted to give back and help kids. Kids hear about this kind of stuff all the time but I figured that it might have more of an impact coming from people they see more as peers."

Speaking of impact, one message in particular could hit home hard for some in the audience on Saturday.

Springs, who has been on the varsity at Waukegan since his freshman year and is about to break the school records there for all-time assists and steals, will speak from experience when he warns the boys to take their academics seriously.

He says that he had a scholarship to Division I Lehigh practically in the bag. But because he didn't keep up his grades, it slipped right through his fingers.

"It hurts because Lehigh is a great opportunity that I let get away from me. They went out and signed another point guard," said Springs, who is currently averaging about 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals per game. "I think one way I can feel better about it is to help kids realize that they don't want to get in the same situation. If they hear it from me, and about how something like that can really happen, I'm hoping they'll remember it."

Springs hopes the boys will also remember to be as fearless in the classroom as they strive to be on the basketball court. He wasn't.

"One of my biggest problems was that I was afraid to look bad (or un-cool)," Springs said. "I wouldn't know things, or I would have questions, but I never wanted to raise my hand because I was afraid of what other people would think.

"I want to tell the kids that they can't let other people guide what they do. If they can use that in their life, I'll be happy."

Brust, meanwhile, is just happy to participate in anything that involves Smith.

He's played AAU basketball with Smith for years and is excited that their relationship will continue next year in the Big Ten.

"Lenzelle is one of the most awesome kids you'll ever meet," said the Iowa-bound Brust, who is averaging 26 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5 assists per game this season for Mundelein. "He's a great basketball player but he's an ever better person. Actually, all the guys involved in this are great guys. They care.

"This clinic is going to show a really good side of all these guys, and that there's more to them than just basketball players. I'm just glad I'm going to be able to do whatever I can to help out."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Basketball and Life Skills Clinic

Who: Third through eighth grade boys

When: Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon; registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Where: Zion-Benton High School, 3901 W. 21st Street, Zion

The 411: Join Zion-Benton's Lenzelle Smith and some of the best boys high school basketball players in Lake County for a free basketball and life skills clinic. Participants will also receive a T-shirt and snacks, and the high school players will be signing autographs after the clinic.

Questions: kim.michelson1@gmail.com