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South Elgin's Smith commits to Central Michigan

Matt Smith saw firsthand the excitement that comes with being recruited to play Division I basketball when his older sister, Becca, was starring at South Elgin High School before earning a scholarship to play at Loyola, where she just completed her junior season.

Now, Matt Smith will be heading to a Division I school to play basketball as well.

Smith, a 6-foot junior guard, made a verbal commitment Sunday night to accept a scholarship offer from Central Michigan University.

"It was a combination of things," Smith said Monday about his decision. "It's a great academic school and the basketball team did great this season. It was combining strong academics and a good basketball program."

He knew about the time his sister started getting recruited that he also would like to pursue being a Division I athlete.

"I saw the excitement that came with her being recruited," Smith said. "I saw that and I wanted it too."

A two-time Daily Herald All-Area selection, Smith has scored over 1,100 career points. He averaged 14.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game for the Storm this past season. His sophomore year, he helped lead South Elgin to a regional championship.

At Central Michigan, Smith will join a team that went 23-9 this past season and played in the NIT. Head coach Keno Davis just finished his third season in Mount Pleasant after formerly coaching at Drake and Providence. One of his assistants is Kevin Gamble, a former Iowa star and 10-year NBA veteran.

"Coach Davis is a great coach and he has a great coaching staff," said Smith, who said he'd like to study finance in college.

Smith, who also considered UIC, Loyola, Wright State and Indiana State, said Davis sees him as a point guard in college as well.

"He sees me coming in and making an impact as a point guard and following in the footsteps of (senior) Chris Fowler," Smith said. "(Davis) said he sees a lot of him in me."

Smith plays for the Illinois Wolves AAU program and credits its coaching for his development.

"Mike Mullins has been pushing me since I was 13 years old," Smith said of the Wolves' founder.

Smith also credits his family, including his older brother Andrew, a 2007 Elgin Academy graduate who played at ECC then Carthage, as well as his mom, Laurie, for him reaching his goals.

"First, all the glory goes to God," Smith said. "None of this would be possible without Him. And my older brother Andrew has been a guiding force in my life. My mom has been driving me to all my tournaments for so many years. Last week was her birthday and she gave up that day to take to me to a tournament. I can't thank her enough."

Smith is happy to have the commitment phase of the recruiting process behind him.

"It was a fun process but it's also very stressful," he said. "To get it out of the way is a big deal and I'm excited about it."

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