After the most successful season in the program’s short history last season, the Flint Elite girls’ basketball team is excited to get back on the court and build on that progress. But first, they had to honor a major milestone achieved a season ago.
The team, which is a co-op between students at New Standard and Madison academies, hosted its first-ever “Flint Elite Madness” event on November 25 to introduce this year’s varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams. During that celebration, they unveiled a banner honoring senior Danielle Smoots-Green, who was an Associated Press Division 3 All-State selection as a junior. She also scored her 1,000th career point last season, just the third player and first girls’ basketball player in program history to accomplish that. Boys’ players Shamar Liggins and Terrence Smith were previously recognized with banners.
“I’m proud of myself,” Smoots-Green said. “It took a lot to get there from my first couple seasons and then just hustling last season.”
Smoots-Green is actually closing in on 1,200 career points now, and her prolific scoring ability (she averaged around 28 points per game) was a key reason Flint Elite jumped from three wins in 2024 to 16 and an appearance in the district finals last season. That success has ramped up expectations for her and for the team.
Coach Napoleon Petteway, who is entering his second season leading Flint Elite’s program, cited Smoots-Green’s work ethic and intelligence as key reasons for her success.
“Any time you have a player like Danielle, it relieves a lot of pressure on coaches,” Petteway said. “Her court awareness, her IQ, really stand out. She likes the pressure when the game is on the line or when we need scoring out of her. She never backs down.”
Petteway said that he pushes her and has high expectations for her, but also notes that Smoots-Green is extremely self-motivated.
“She is always in the gym shooting and working on her game, she’s never satisfied,” he said. “I expect a lot out of her, but I also just want her to play, to relax. I always tell her, you’re not satisfied because I’m not. So she understands her role on the team.”
Smoots-Green has grown up playing basketball, and the sport has been a big part of her family. It has also provided a peaceful outlet for her.
“It just takes your mind off of things,” she said. “It’s like that’s where (on the court) you’re supposed to be at.”
That seriousness aligns well with Petteway’s expectations. Petteway is a former varsity boys’ coach at Flint Northwestern, and he’s also played professionally. With eight returning players this season, he wants to continue to see the program moving in the right direction.
“Last year was a little different because I had a lot of new girls playing,” Petteway said. “Now that the expectation is higher, you gotta keep moving. So, I’m proud, but I’m never satisfied.”
The experience of the team overall, combined with the offensive and defensive philosophies that were implemented last season should lead to entertaining basketball.
“The experience is there for us,” Petteway said. “And the way we play defense and get up and down the court is very entertaining. The girls have bought into the system. Everybody has a job on the team. There’s no one person doing the work. It’s like a party. Okay, you bring the hot dogs, I got the hamburger, somebody got chips, and you bring all that together, it tastes good. But if we short change something, or forget some stuff, now you’re putting a lot of pressure on your teammates. And they understand that.”
One of those critical components of team basketball is rebounding, and Petteway specifically mentioned senior Eniyah Byrd as a leader in that category. Byrd said that getting one step further and capturing a district title this season is among the things she hopes the team can accomplish. A key to doing that is the chemistry the team has formed and how hard they push each other in practice.
“Our communication, just all-around drive, and our bond (are keys),” Byrd said, adding that she’s hoping to improve her scoring this season. “I want to try to get more points and make hustle plays. We’re very hard-working, last year we went down with a fight but I’m really hoping we can get districts this year.”
Smoots-Green has college opportunities on the horizon, but she’s also focused on her legacy with Flint Elite so the program continues to thrive after she graduates. She believes they have a talented group that can achieve big goals together this season.
“I want to get my teammates involved more out there for when I leave,” she said. “I want them to know exactly what to do when I’m not out there.”
The team opens its season on December 9 against Atherton, but there are some key dates to watch on the schedule. They face perennial girls’ basketball power Hamady on January 6 and February 10. Hamady beat them by nearly 50 points in their lone matchup last season. And they face Genesee, who they lost to by eight in the district final, on January 16. Those games should provide good local tests for how big of a next step the team is ready to take this season.
“I set goals as a team,” Petteway said. “And that’s what I look at, we keep moving forward because you’re always gonna have a little bump in the road, where you have to go back to the drawing board and say, OK, we had that bump. I’m just happy to move this program in the right direction, to have these girls into the system and understand expectations. At the same time, we’re gonna have fun too whether we win or lose, so that’s my mindset right now.”
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