As a kid growing up and falling in love with basketball, Powers Catholic senior Kendyl Smith had a unique environment to help develop her skillset. Her dad, Kevin Smith, was a Flint police officer and was involved in the Flint Police Athletic League (PAL).
She was able to be in gyms around the city with her dad, and built her competitiveness in part by playing against boys in that league.
“Just practicing and getting in the gym with them was a big thing for me,” Smith said. “I was the only girl on the team, but I just embraced it and had a lot of fun playing with them.”
Smith also credits her dad, who played collegiately himself, with helping instill a passion for the game in her just by simply spending time in gyms and working with her.
“My dad has been there from a young age,” she said. “So I’ve just been putting time in the gym with him and just growing my love for the game with him.”
Throughout her high school career, Smith has established herself as a point guard who is equally comfortable attacking as a scorer or leading an offense as a distributor. Her shooting ability stands out quickly – she has no qualms about pulling up for a jumper from around midcourt if defenders give her an opening. But beyond her shooting ability, she really studies all facets of the game and helps Powers win with scoring, facilitating, and defense. She wants to learn how and where her teammates like to receive the ball. She wants to know and discuss opponents’ tendencies to figure out the best strategies to create advantages for Powers. And, in tense or stressful game situations, she’s always even-keeled.
Those traits obviously require a lot of attention to basketball details, but they’re also fed by her strong personal spirituality off the court.
“She’s really well-grounded in her faith, and I think that’s really important for athletes when there are high expectations and everything like that around you,” said Powers coach Ryan Trevithick. “The noise gets really loud, but if you have a faith-centered approach to what you do, I think she focuses and leans on that very heavily rather than leaning on the accolades or somebody saying, ‘Hey, you’re the best player and you need to be the best player all the time.’ Just being the best player, that’s not what she’s seeking out to do. She’s trying to be the best version of herself (as a whole person).”
Part of that pursuit requires prioritization. After holding off Portland 48-37 to clinch a regional championship last week, the team had a Friday practice on March 13. Powers had no school that day, but Smith had a couple of things on her agenda besides practice: she wanted to get in the gym about three hours before practice to get some shots up. And she also had to finish up a Bible study session.
“I mean, it’s a Friday, there’s no school, and she was focused on Bible study and extra practice time,” Trevithick said. “That’s not your typical 17-year-old. But she just lives that, it’s just kind of second nature for her, and I think that’s why she’s able to do what she does.”
In addition to regional and district titles this season, Smith has helped Powers to a 23-3 record so far. In her three seasons at Powers, the team has won 64 games, including district and regional titles in two of the last three seasons. Powers plays in the state quarterfinals for the second time in Smith’s career at 7 p.m. March 17 against Petoskey in Gaylord. The winner advances to the MHSAA semifinals at the Breslin Center, where they’ll face the winner of the Tecumseh vs. Carleton Airport quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. on March 20.
“It will take a lot of hard work and grit (to advance),” Smith said. “I think just staying together, that’s what got us this far, and just playing as a team. We have a motto that says five fingers equals a fist. If we’re separated, then we’re not gonna be as good. But if we’re together, we’re gonna be strong.”
Although the personal accolades aren’t what motivate her, Smith has certainly racked up her share of them. She’s averaging more than 20 points and nearly 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and more than 3 steals per game this season. She’s the all-time leading scorer in Powers basketball (boys’ or girls’) history, and is one of just eight girls’ basketball players in MHSAA history to have more than 1,500 points and 500 assists in her high school career. Those achievements made her a finalist for the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Miss Basketball award, which goes to the top senior in the state each year.
The winner of the award will be announced on March 16. Just three Flint area players have won it since it was first awarded in 1981: Lisa Negri (Powers) in 1991; Deana Nolan (Flint Northern) in 1996; and Tania Davis (Goodrich) in 2015.
Smith’s ability to impact the game in multiple ways is unique. In some games, that requires carrying a heavy scoring burden. In others, like the regional win over Portland when the defense was trying to force the ball out of Smith’s hands and limit her scoring chances, it required finding open teammates. Smith didn’t reach double figures in the game, but was able to pass out of double teams and find cutting teammates for easy baskets. The nuances to her game come from a simple place: she is competitive.
“I just like to win,” Smith said. “So just knowing the times where I need to take over, or other times where I don’t need to score and need to get everyone else involved, I think that is just knowing how to win games.”
From a coaching perspective, Smith’s ability to manage her way through games, adjust to multiple defensive looks teams throw at Powers, and not get flustered by pressure in competitive environments are all assets for the staff.
“It’s like having a quarterback that’s a four-year starter leading your offense in a two minute drill,” Trevithick said. “She knows how to execute, knows what we need to do. Kendyl’s our quarterback, she’s our leader. She’s been in that space and says, ‘Hey, I got it. We’re good. Let’s execute this, let’s run this.’ And it allows us, as coaches, to really manage the game possession by possession and do what we do collaboratively as a staff and just let the players play. That’s the fun part.”
For Smith, who will play Division I college basketball at Liberty University next season, the achievements are fun, but her commitment to God and to her team are bigger than any personal recognitions she’s received.
“My faith in God and just obviously my team is a big thing,” Smith said. “Just knowing that they (her teammates) trust me and just kind of trusting in His plan and knowing that there’s not an audience of anybody else in the crowd or any accolades or anything like that, just knowing that I’m only playing for Him is a really big thing. I think just the hard work is paying off and the hours in the gym, but I don’t really look at it (the individual recognition) that much. I just try to focus on our circle and our team and what goes on in the locker room. I couldn’t do it without them.”
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