Boys basketball notes: Addison Trail’s Smith, already part of exclusive 2,000 club, adds another record; Kirby leading Geneva to championship season

During his 4-year varsity basketball career, Addison Trail’s Luke Smith has built a laundry list of accomplishments.

Already the school’s career scoring leader, Smith, topped the 2,000-point mark during last December’s game against Dunlap at the State Farm Classic in Bloomington.

Last Friday, the 6-foot senior guard added another milestone when he poured in a single-game school record 46 points during the Blazers’ 88-79 homecourt victory over Proviso East.

Smith, who recorded a triple-triple with 15 rebounds and 11 assists, broke the mark previously held by former Blazers star and current A-T girls basketball coach Cory Little, who scored 44 points against Proviso East as a sophomore in 1994-1995.

“It was a cool moment,” said Smith, whose team is 12-12. “I could see my point total on the scoreboard, but I wasn’t going to throw anything up there at the basket. I wanted to do it within the framework of the game. It happened when I made a layup in transition with less than a minute left.

“Cory was watching from the stands. He’s my guy — I’ve worked with him a lot over the years.”

Smith, who had come within a whisker of breaking the record several times — 43 points on 3 occasions — was most pleased with the team’s win over the Pirates (16-8).

“Getting the win made it more special,” said Smith, who already owns school records for games played, assists, free throws and 3-pointers attempted and made. “It’s only the third time we’ve ever beaten them. It means a lot.”

Nothing Smith does comes as a surprise to Blazers coach Brendan Lyons.

“Luke is known for his scoring, but he is an all-around student-athlete,” said the coach. “He excels in the classroom (4.0 GPA). He is about as humble of a ‘star player’ as you will find. He is a pleasure to coach, a leader by example and respected by all his teammates.

“His work ethic is unmatched. The early and late hours he has dedicated to developing his game and improving his strength have paid off during his career.”

Lyons recalled his first meeting with Smith.

“He has attended our fall and summer camps since he was in fourth grade,” said the coach. “Even at that age, you could see that he had skill that was well ahead of other players his age. During his eighth grade year, we were under COVID guidelines, so it was challenging to get out to see him play, but from the few games I saw, it was apparent that his all-around game continued to develop and he was ready for high school.

“In the summer entering his freshman year, he played with the varsity and it was easily apparent that he was more than capable of contributing as a freshman. The rest is history.”

As a junior, Smith scored 26.1 points per game, shooting 50% from the field and 89% at the free-throw line, while averaging 7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. After amassing a single-season school record 813 points, he earned AP All-State honorable mention.

His game continues to improve.

Facing defenses ranging from box-and-1 to triangle-and-2 this season, Smith averages 26.5 points per game and 29 points per game in conference play while becoming a defensive leader.

“What often gets overlooked is his ability to distribute (team-leading 8 assists per game), rebound, (team-leading 8 per game), and defend,” said Lyons. “He has truly evolved into a complete basketball player who does it all.

“Luke’s game is smooth. There is nothing forced about what he does offensively. While he can take a high volume of shots in our offense, he doesn’t force shots, scores at a high rate of efficiency (54-plus percent career efg), and still finds a way to get his teammates involved.”

Smith, who sandwiched 39-point (vs. Downers Grove South) and 35-point (vs. Plainfield East) games around the career-best effort against Proviso East, topped the 2,300-point plateau (ranks 54th all-time IHSA) Tuesday night against Morton and has 6 regular-season games left.

Heavily recruited by several Division III schools, Smith remains undecided on his future.

“I have some options, but I’m waiting right now,” he said. “That’s kind of where I’m at right now. I focus on what I can do.”

Kirby powering Geneva

Hudson Kirby is enjoying a memorable senior season for Geneva.

And there’s still 5 regular-season games remaining.

Anchored by the 6-foot-6 Kirby, the Vikings improved to 21-4 overall, 10-0 in the DuKane Conference, with Tuesday’s 52-50 overtime win over Glenbard North.

Thanks in part to their 2 victories over Wheaton Warrenville South, the Vikings hold a 2-game lead over the second-place Tigers, plus own the tiebreaker.

While it admittedly hasn’t come easy, Kirby isn’t surprised by his team’s strong showing this season.

“I expected we would be good with so much back,” said Kirby, who scored the game-winning basket off a feed from Gabe Jensen against Glenbard North. “Some of our nonconference losses have been tough to deal with.

“Our conference is a grind. You can’t take a single night off. We had weekday games earlier in the season against St. Charles North and Glenbard North where we had to come back to win.”

A year ago, Geneva finished 16-14 overall, 6-8 in conference.

“The key this season is that we’re getting most every 50-50 ball, and we’re winning the rebounding battle,” said Kirby, who credits senior Jack Hatton, juniors Dane Turner, Jensen, and sophomores Ben Peterson, Nelson Wendell, and John Tweed for their contributions.

“We returned a lot from last year’s team,” said Vikings coach Scott Hennig. “I thought we had a nice off-season, and we had a group that was committed to getting better.”

Kirby, a forward, has posted several big-time performances this season.

Last month, he had a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds in a 64-55 win over Wheaton North — a feat he also accomplished against Glenbard North (20 points, 12 rebounds) and the first meeting with WW South (24 points, 13 rebounds).

“We play through Hudson,” said Hennig. “A lot of sets and concepts are focused on getting him the basketball in scoring positions. His ability to pass has opened the floor for other guys.”

Kirby’s favorite moment came a couple weeks ago during the Vikings’ 30-29 win over WW South.

His free throw with 2.5 seconds remaining was the difference, providing Hennig with his 150th career victory.

“It’s always a battle when we play Wheaton Warrenville South,” said Kirby, who has added 15 pounds to his now 205-pound frame.

“Hudson made a big commitment in the weight room to improve his conditioning and strength,” said Hennig. “His perimeter skills have improved as well — outside shooting, ballhandling.”

The UW-Parkside commit, who as a kid remembers watching former Geneva standouts Jack McDonald and Mitch Mascari play, has a couple more team goals in mind prior to the postseason.

“I’d like to finish conference undefeated,” said Kirby, “and I’m hoping we can get a top-2 sectional seeding since we’re hosting regionals.”

Morrice sets school record at St. Edward

St. Edward guard Matthew Morrice enjoyed a Senior Night he will remember for some time, scoring a school-record 53 points during the team’s 77-71 win over Cristo Rey St. Martin last week in Elgin.

The 6-3 senior cemented his legacy in Green Wave history, scoring at all levels while carrying the Green Wave down the stretch.

Two days later, Morrice had 38 points and 10 rebounds during a 74-51 loss to Wheaton Academy.