Smith joins father in Foxcroft’s 1,000-point club

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Hunter Smith’s adventurous senior year at Foxcroft Academy already included a football season that began with a dislocated left hip and concluded with two pass receptions at the Blue-Grey North-South All-American Bowl in Tampa, Florida.

Photo courtesy of Foxcroft Academy junior Perry Wang

GAME BALL — Senior Hunter Smith is congratulated by Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey after scoring his 1,000th career point during a Jan. 21 game vs. Old Town. Also a multi-time state champion in outdoor track and field, Smith is expected to sign a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 3 accepting a scholarship to continue his athletic career as a college football player.

Basketball season has not been without its ups and downs, too, as an injury-riddled 3-11 Foxcroft team has endured seven losses by single digits and is unlikely to qualify for postseason play.

But Smith, the 6-foot-4 forward who last winter was the Big East Conference player of the year, recently salvaged some individual satisfaction by becoming just the seventh boys basketball player in FA history to eclipse 1,000 career points.

Smith scored 28 points during the Ponies’ 61-48 loss to top-ranked Old Town in a Class B North matchup at the Foxcroft gym to join a group of 1,000-point scorers from the school led by his father Dean, who totaled 1,722 points between 1982 and 1986 before going on to star at the University of Maine.

“It means a lot, living up to my father’s name here at FA,” said the younger Smith, who has 1,004 career points entering Foxcroft’s game at Dexter on Wednesday night. “In eighth grade going into my freshman year I wasn’t the greatest player. I wasn’t really taking things seriously and then he started asking me, ‘Do you want to do this?’ and I said ‘Absolutely.’”

“So I started putting the work in and freshman year I was playing quite a bit and we went pretty far in the playoffs. Sophomore year I started and it’s gone on since then.”

Smith’s milestone point came midway through the fourth quarter when he grabbed the rebound of a missed shot by Old Town and drove the length of the court.

“I wasn’t going too hard but I was trying to push it and I saw they had one defender back,” he said. “I had been called for a foul before for going too hard to the rack in a straight line so I crossed over to the left side and made a couple of dribbles to try to get around him and finished on that side.”

The game was stopped briefly and Smith was presented a game ball by Foxcroft head of school Arnold Shorey.

“I think what’s become more evident now is that Hunter’s athleticism is absolutely off the charts,” said first-year Foxcroft head coach Tyler Erickson. “I’ve been around a lot of high school athletes and I haven’t seen many who can play both up high and speedwise the way he does. I think a lot of times it’s almost a burden because he does some things so well that it doesn’t look difficult.

“Then there’s the work ethic. He shows up every night ready to work and challenges everyone around him. He puts the time in.”

Smith was uncertain if he would achieve the milestone at home.

“We had two away games and then this was the only home game before a couple more away games, so I kind of wanted to make it work here,” said Smith. “It was pretty nerve-wracking at first before the game, but once you get on the floor the nerves fly off and you just play.

“It was unfortunate we lost, but we competed well against a heck of a team.”

While Old Town coach Brian McDormand might have wished the 1,000th point had come against another team, he is quite familiar with the challenge Smith has presented opposing defenses for the last four years.

“I had the opportunity when Hunter was going into his freshman year of coaching him at Pine Tree [Basketball Clinic in Waterville] and it was a great experience,” said McDormand. “He was probably the best player on my team down there, he definitely was.

“He’s really come a long way the last four years in the growth of his skill level. He’s a phenomenal athlete with good length, a team player who lets it come to him. He’s fun to watch, except when you’re coaching against him.”

Old Town began the game employing a box-and-one defense designed to slow Smith offensively, but the Ponies’ leading scorer for the last three seasons used his strength and leaping ability to amass most of his points either on inside moves or after grabbing offensive rebounds.

“We’ve game-planned for Hunter every year I’ve been coaching here except maybe his freshman year,” said McDormand. “But the last three years we’ve specifically started out trying to put a lot of pressure on Hunter.

“I was surprised when they stopped the game because I didn’t know he had that many points. He plays ferociously and finishes at the rim, but I think he sacrifices some of his game playing down inside. I think he’s a good perimeter player, too, but with this group he can go inside more like Andre [Miller] does for us. He’s a multi-dimensional player and he’s got a good career in athletics ahead of him.”

Dean and Hunter Smith became the second father-son duo from Foxcroft to eclipse 1,000 points apiece. They joined the first two members of the club, Jack Anderson (1937-40, 1,021 points) and Dave Anderson (1965-69, 1,079 points).

Other schoolboy players from Foxcroft to surpass 1,000 points are Kevin Nelson (1971-75, 1,468 points), Rich McLeish (1975-79, 1,117 points) and Matt Carey (2001-05, 1,089 points).

Two Foxcroft girls basketball standouts also have reached the mark: Kelly Dow (1993-97, 1,149 points) and Vanessa Lougee (2006-10, 1,048 points).

Smith began this season needing approximately 200 points to reach 1,000 after playing his first three years at Foxcroft under former Ponies’ coach David Carey.

But Smith was only cleared for contact just before the team’s regular-season opener in early December in the aftermath of a hip injury suffered during a preseason football game on Aug. 28.

“Once I began working toward getting ready for the All-American Bowl I was starting to feel better,” said Smith, who missed his entire senior season on the gridiron for the Ponies. “The beginning of the basketball season helped me for the All-American game and by the time I played in that game I was hitting my stride physically.”

Smith, who missed two Foxcroft basketball games while in Florida for the All-American bowl, is expected to sign a National Letter of Intent on Feb. 3 accepting a scholarship to continue his athletic career as a college football player.

But at least one basketball coach also sees plenty of room for additional growth on the hardwood.

“Last summer I think Hunter’s game had expanded even more because his outside jumper was there, and we really haven’t seen that yet this year,” said Erickson. “He’s earning things the hard way by getting inside and banging around with the big guys, but he’s pretty comfortable scoring anywhere on the floor.

“There’s still a ceiling he hasn’t gotten to yet, I don’t know if this kid has a ceiling. Just watching him do day-to-day drills is fun.”

Photo courtesy of Foxcroft Academy junior Perry Wang

1,000-POINT MILESTONE — Foxcroft Academy senior Hunter Smith scored his 1,000th career point on a layup during the fourth quarter of a Jan. 21 game vs. Old Town. Smith is the seventh Pony boys basketball player to reach the milestone, and ninth overall. He joined his father Dean — who played from 1982-86 — in the 1,000-point club and the two are the second father-son duo to each record 1,000 points in a Pony uniform.

Photo courtesy of Foxcroft Academy junior Perry Wang

GO FOR 1,000! — Foxcroft Academy students fill their bleachers to cheer on Hunter Smith as he closed in on and scored his 1,000 point on the court on Jan. 21. Smith entered the game vs. Old Town needing 24 points to reach the milestone and he finished with 28 before his home crowd.