Chris Smith has been enjoying a block party this season for the South Suburban College men’s basketball team. And he’s had a little help from his friends.
A 6-foot-9 center from Rich East, Smith leads the team with 1.5 blocked shots a game for SSC, which is ranked No. 1 in the country in NJCAA Division II with a 7.3 average.
Smith is followed closely on the Bulldogs’ blocked shots chart by West Aurora product Camron Donatlan with 1.4 and St. Rita graduate Cameron Bartmann with 1.1.
It’s quite a competition among those three.
Or is it?
“On the leader board, it looks like we have a competition, but we’re just out there trying to get wins,” Smith said. “We’re a defensive-minded team. I’ve always been about protecting the rim.”
Smith protected that rim like a lid Saturday with five blocks as SSC edged Waubonsee Community College 74-73 in the Region 4 championship game in South Holland.
That win sends the Bulldogs (29-0), who are seeded first, to the national tournament. They will face Florida Gateway at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the first round at Danville.
Four of Smith’s rejections Saturday came in the second half as Waubonsee staged a furious comeback. Smith had two blocks in one series for the Bulldogs, who led 40-25 at halftime.
He makes it look easy.
“It’s more in spacing,” SCC coach John Pigatti said of Smith. “He doesn’t run up to guys. He keeps his pace and times it. With spacing and timing, he does a fantastic job.”
Smith said he has been blocking shots his entire basketball career, but that hasn’t been for very long.
Baseball was Smith’s first love, and he entered high school at only 6-foot as a pitcher and first baseman.
Then the growth spurt hit.
“When I started growing, I knew I had to give basketball a try,” he said. “I really liked it.”
Now, Smith is leading the Bulldogs with 47 blocked shots, which is notable because he plays an average of less than 14 minutes.
On offense, he’s shooting 67%. He scored a career-high 14 points on Jan. 29 against Black Hawk.
Thornton graduate Damarco Minor, meanwhile, had a huge season for SSC and was named the region’s player of the year. Pigatti was named coach of the year.
Minor, who had five 3-pointers, finished with 29 points in the Region 4 championship game.
Other area players for SSC include the 6-10 Bartmann, who has been a menace to opponents under the basket. T.F. South graduate Christian Heffner, a 6-0 freshman guard, also has picked up minutes.
The Bulldogs — who have qualified for the national tournament 12 times, with third-place finishes in 2012, 2016 and 2017 — also are first in the nation in steals with 16.3, in rebound margin at 26.8 and in fewest points at 59.2.
They also score an average of 90 points.
Twenty-six of their victories have been by more than 10 points. Their closest game this season was Saturday’s one-point victory.
As part of this team, Smith knows he’s in a position where the Bulldogs can bring home their first national title and not only make school history but national history.
No school in NJCAA Division II has ever had a perfect season. It has only happened five times on the Division I level and five times in Division III.
“The whole year, we’ve had that attitude that nobody is going to beat us,” Smith said. “It came close a couple of times, but at the end, we did what he had to do to secure a win. That’s the most important thing.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.