By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Attitude, work ethic, and energy. Each of these characteristics is a critical component of what it takes to be an effective leader. Tennessee Tech men's basketball senior guard Maverick Smith possesses them all and then some, and it has not gone unnoticed by his coaching staff.
When Smith was forced to miss a practice during the preseason, there was just something different about the atmosphere in the gym. Something didn't feel right.
"We noticed at the very beginning of practice that there was a difference in our team," head coach John Pelphrey expressed. "The reason was that Maverick wasn't there. He brings leadership and energy every single day and those levels of his leadership and energy don't change. It is an area of choice that chooses to excel in each and every day."
Pelphrey and his staff first began to take notice of the now-senior's remarkable ability to lead by example during their first year on campus just last season. Noticing Smith putting in an extra workout in the hotel gym on a road trip, Pelphrey went up to the Oakdale, Tenn. native and asked him why what made him come to the gym hours after practice.
Smith's response was simple. "I'm just trying to be best possible version of myself Coach."
That kind of attitude and his immediate buy-in to the team's Code made it an easy decision for Pelphrey to name Smith a team captain during the 2019-20 campaign.
"Maverick is a special person and an extremely important part of this program," Pelphrey explained. "He voted as a captain last year and will be a captain this year as well. His leadership isn't based on how many minutes he plays or how many points he scores. It is something only he can control, and he does a phenomenal job at it. We're extremely proud of Maverick and are very fortunate to have him as part of our program."
Pelphrey proved just how much Maverick means to the Golden Eagle squad in late August during the first team meeting of the 2020-21 season. After spending his first three seasons as a walk-on, Smith was put on scholarship for his senior campaign in the purple and gold with a special video message from his family to make the announcement.
"Maverick embodies everything you want in a student-athlete," Pelphrey said. "He represents his family, our program and this university in a first-class manner. He understands and is bought-in to our Code."
Continuing his leadership into the 2020-21 campaign, Smith earned his first four career starts to kick off the Golden Eagles' season, stepping in while the team went through the adverse effects of COVID-19 and the protocols that come with it. He set multiple career-high accomplishments while continuing to display the qualities that have made him such a crucial part of the Tech program.
It is for these qualities and dedication that Smith is the recipient of the 2020 November Unsung Leader Award.
The Unsung Leader Award is selected from student-athletes, who have been nominated by their coaching staff, for exemplifying outstanding leadership qualities during the past month. The leadership can be shown on the field, in the weight room, at practice, in the classroom, in study hall, on campus, in the community or for a student club or organization.
The award honors a varsity student-athlete who has made a positive impact on their team and the Tennessee Tech community as a whole, through his or her dedication to demonstrating leadership traits, such as:
- Keep learning, growing and improving
- Follow through with excellence
- Accomplish more than expected
- Inspire and motivate others
Photo by NKU Athletics
