COLLEGE PARK, Md. — As a highly skilled 6-foot-10 former McDonald’s All-American, it’s not a huge surprise that sophomore forward Jalen “Stix” Smith is having the type of dominant season he has had so far for the Terps. Averaging 15.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, Smith is riding a streak of six straight double-doubles and is tied for fifth nationally with 14 on the season.
The day before Maryland’s 11-point road win against Illinois, a game in which he scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Smith revealed something to the media that helps further explain the elite-level season he’s currently having in College Park.
“My confidence is at an all-time high,” Smith said. “Coach has been helping me with that. My therapist has been helping me with that. And just making sure I keep the right mindset going into every game.”
Seeing a sports psychologist this season has helped Smith flip a switch and become the type of aggressive and consistent post player Maryland needs him to be.
Smith’s improved numbers and consistent play this season have not gone unnoticed, as he was named one of 10 candidates for the Karl Malone Power Forward Award by the Naismith Hall of Fame on Feb. 6.
Already this year, Smith has set single-game career-highs in scoring (29 points at Indiana), rebounding (16 against Notre Dame), and blocked shots (six against Rutgers). He enjoyed a strong freshman campaign last year in which he averaged 11.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game, but clearly something has changed with “Stix” this season.
It appears to have started this summer in a meeting with his head coach Mark Turgeon where the two of them addressed high preseason expectations for the team and lofty aspirations for the then-rising sophomore, who decided to forego the 2019 NBA Draft and return to College Park to help lead the Terps toward their goals.
“The summer leading into my sophomore year coach Turgeon and I sat down and he just asked me how I felt and how I was dealing with the pressure of knowing that coming back another year the pressure was going to be on me even more than it was in my freshman year,” Smith said. “And I told him that I was handling it well but it was getting to me. So we decided to get a sports psychologist, and ever since then, she’s been helping me deal with all the pressure, finding ways to cope with it, finding ways to deal with my emotions, and just stuff to help me manage myself.”
With all the skills needed to be not only an effective college player but also a highly rated pro prospect, Smith wasn’t too concerned about his game, and still isn’t. Rather, he, with the help of his sports psychologist, is focusing on the mental aspects of playing in the spotlight of a major college basketball program like Maryland.
“It’s not centered around my play; it’s centered around how I carry myself and how to think,” Smith said. “It’s basically all about my thoughts and emotions, not really about how I play.”
It’s understandable that a player as highly touted as Smith would have a lot of pressure in a place like College Park. He’s not only representing himself but he also takes pride in hailing from Baltimore and bringing positive attention to local hoops in the city that’s only about 30 miles from the University of Maryland.
But getting to talk to someone who specializes in sports psychology is refocusing Smith’s worries into a constructive mindset that is benefiting him greatly on the court and, more importantly, in life.
“Just focusing on the now and being in the present, worrying about what I have to do to help my team win, and just knowing that my team and my family and my friends are always going to have my back, so I don’t have to worry that much about outside sources getting into my head,” Smith said.
As a nod to Smith and the incredible season he’s having, Maryland will give the first 500 students to come to the Terps’ game against Nebraska Feb. 11 a pair of “Stix Specs” to wear as they cheer on their team. The next 2,000 students will receive “Glow Stix.”
“It’s going to be amazing just knowing that Maryland has recognized my play and decided to dedicate a night to me,” Smith said. “It’s just amazing because most of the people who play on the team don’t ever get a night here. So I’m going to have fun with it. It’s just going to be an amazing night.”
