ALL-CITY BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM: Jerron Smith exits Decatur as all-time leading scorer

By Casey Olson • March 11, 2011 1:45 pm
Decatur senior Jerron Smith averaged 27.5 points this season and has scored 2
Decatur senior Jerron Smith averaged 27.5 points this season and has scored 2

There will be a big hole in the Decatur High School boys basketball program when turnout starts next season. For the first time in four years, Jerron Smith won’t be raining down jumpers inside the Gator Dome.

The 6-foot-3 guard and all-time Decatur scoring leader is moving on to Portland State University after a stellar prep career for the Gators.

The numbers are staggering during his four seasons at Decatur. In that stretch, Smith started 113 games, including 33 in the postseason, won four West Central District Tournament trophies, played in four state tournaments and scored an eye-popping 2,034 points.

“Jerron has been the flagship of our program the past few years and is the definition of a student-athlete,” said Decatur head coach Kevin Olson.

That’s putting it lightly. Smith, who maintains a 3.8 grade-point average, averaged 27.5 points this season and was named the Class 3A Player of the Year by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association, All-Area by The News Tribune and is now The Mirror’s 2011 All-City Boys Player of the Year.

“Being named 3A Player of the Year is a tremendous honor and we are very proud of him,” Olson said.

In the last three seasons, Smith has been a scoring machine for the Gators. During that stretch, he scored in double figures in 84 of 87 games and tallied 30 or more points 16 times. He scored a career-high 44 during a win over Wenatchee on Dec. 22.

“Next year will be very strange, especially in the fourth quarter when we need a clutch basket,” Olson said. “I’ve always been able to run a play to get him a shot knowing he’ll knock it down. We’ll have to try and find someone to knock down those shots, to be the go-to guy in our sets. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. He will be missed.”

As a junior, Smith was a first-team, All-SPSL South Division selection after leading Decatur in scoring at 20.9 points a game. He averaged 15.7 points as a sophomore and 8.7 during his freshman season.

Smith chose Portland State over schools like Lehigh, San Diego, Montana State, UC Davis and the University of Portland, among others. But Portland State always had the inside edge. Smith’s father played basketball at the school during the mid-1970s. The Vikings play in the Big Sky Conference.

“My goal was always to have a scholarship before my senior season,” Smith said. “And I accomplished that goal.”