WINDSOR, N.S. — A Shelburne County girl is making a name for herself while shooting hoops at Windsor’s private school.
Mackenzie Smith, a five-foot-10 guard, is a force to be reckoned with on the court, and her skills have been noticed by recruiters across North America.
In fact, she’s heading to the United States this fall to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women’s Division 1 while pursuing post-secondary studies. Both Smith and her basketball coach remain tight-lipped about which school she’ll be playing for, but an official announcement is expected in April.
“She’s going to play professionally, without a doubt,” said Marc Ffrench, the director of operations for King’s-Edgehill School’s prep girls’ basketball team, about Smith’s bright future.
“Once her four years of university eligibility are up in the U.S., I really see her playing professionally, probably in Europe, and really just having a great career,” he continued. “I know she’s going to end up coaching and trying to pass on some of the things she’s learned. I definitely see her playing as a career for a few years before settling down.”
For Smith, getting recruited to play at a high level is a dream come true.
“There is a list of dreams that I want to accomplish and that’s one of them,” said Smith, who plans on studying health sciences with the eventual goal of becoming an athletic therapist or a coach.
“If I can’t be part of the game, I still want to be there.”
Fearless guard
Smith, who started playing basketball when she was about six years old, grew up in Shelburne, a small town located in southwestern Nova Scotia.
She participated in a Steve Nash basketball camp and said she knew from an early age that she loved the sport.
“Honestly, for me, it’s the feeling that I get every time I step on the court. For me, the game is kind of a release from everything else — whether it’s school or the outside world. When I step on the court, nothing else matters,” she said.
And when she’s on the court, she’s focused and driven.
“I’d say I’m strong on the board. Every possession, I have in my head — sometimes too much — that the ball is mine and I have to go get it,” she said.
“I’m very physical. I love the physicality of the game. I’m not scared to put myself in there …”
King’s-Edgehill, which is a co-educational boarding and day school for students in Grades 6 to 12, announced in March 2018 that it was forming the new elite basketball program. At the helm was Ffrench, who said he knew there was something special about Smith. She was recruited for the start of the 2018-19 season.
“She’s physical. But her game has developed from being just a great athlete to really becoming a complete player,” said Ffrench.
“She’s just a once in a 10-year type of player.”
Ffrench said opponents have a hard time making plays when she’s on the court.
“(She’s) just not scared of anything; not scared of anybody. She makes some people second think about guarding her,” he said.
An injury sidelined Smith shortly after arriving at King’s-Edgehill.
“It was very difficult,” recalled Smith. “Obviously I was there cheering them on and helping them as much as I could, but it was really hard to kind of sit there and watch.”
While the team was playing in New Hampshire in January 2019, Smith tore her ACL. Smith, who was selected to play as one of the Top 24 Canadian female high school players in the BioSteel All Canadian Girls game, couldn’t play due to the injury she sustained.
She was out of action until just before Christmas that year. She returned in time to attend a tournament in Arizona and has been healthy and contributing to the team ever since.
“She’s one of the best women’s players I’ve coached at this age group,” said Ffrench.
Pandemic pivot
King’s-Edgehill’s girls’ prep team plays in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) league. They generally play elite Canadian teams in the fall and shift to playing teams in the United States in the spring. They also participate in a large tournament near Christmas. But the worldwide pandemic has put a pause on travel-related play.
In the interim, they’ve played a few exhibition games at local schools and they’ve kept up a rigorous training regimen and practice schedule in hopes of playing some games this spring.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed her final season with her school’s team, Smith is taking it in stride.
“It’s definitely different but I see it as time to develop,” said Smith.
“Even though you can learn a lot in the game, I feel as though I’ve learned so much more being able to practice every day and getting in the gym and being with my teammates and coaches.”
Ffrench said a typical Wednesday, for instance, would see the girls attend school until 2:30 p.m. then study together until 5:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., the team would meet for a film session where they would breakdown either their games or games played at American universities. From 7 to 9 p.m., they’d practice.
He said all the girls on the team are on the school’s honour roll, something they take great pride in.
“University coaches know that kids coming out of here are highly academic,” said Ffrench.
“From the start, we haven’t had anybody not on the honour roll. We’re pretty proud of that as a team and as a program. It’s something that’s built into our team culture.”
For post-secondary recruiters, that is appealing.
“Our players are sought after, and they know they’re getting great students coming out of grade school,” he said.
The three graduating seniors this year have all received multiple offers — and all will be playing basketball in the fall at their respective schools. Of the 12 seniors who have graduated since the 2018-19 season, 10 have gone on to play basketball post-secondary.
However, Smith is the first KES prep girls’ basketball player to be selected for the NCAA in the States.
“She’s the first home-grown Division 1 player from Nova Scotia — coming out of a Nova Scotia-based high school — since 2003,” said Ffrench.
He said most Nova Scotians who play in the NCAA do so by leaving the province for high school. They either attend a boarding school in the United States or attend a Central Canadian school that specializes in basketball.
One such successful athlete is Daneesha Provo, originally from North Preston, who attended a school in Connecticut, starting in Grade 9, to pursue her basketball dreams. She entered the NCAA with the Clemson Tigers in South Carolina before transferring after her freshman season to the University of Utah and had four successful years with the Utes. She is now playing pro with Eisvögel USC Freiburg in Germany’s top professional women’s basketball league.
King’s-Edgehill’s program is helping to buck the trend of athletes leaving Nova Scotia in order to be recruited.
Ffrench sees Smith as being the first of many students who will be selected to play NCAA as King’s-Edgehill’s program continues to evolve and get stronger.
Smith credits the opportunity at KES for helping set her on her journey.
“This program, this place, has paved my future for me,” said Smith.
“I love being home, I love my coaches at home, my teammates, but this is really where I was able to accomplish my dreams,” she said. “I owe the coach all of that because he’s put up with me for three years and helped me out and really made me the player I am today, and the person.”
Smith said she’d recommend the program to anyone serious about pursuing the sport post-secondary.
Smith is currently ranked in the Top 10 in the country. Ffrench said he believes “she’s definitely at that level” and has earned every bit of praise she’s received.
“She’s the best player in Eastern Canada, easily. There’s no one even close.”
