Baltimore natives Haywood Highsmith and Jalen Smith, shaped by similar journeys, are driven to help lead their teams to the next level this season.
Highsmith is in his seventh professional season and fourth with the Miami Heat. After contributing each of the past three seasons, he is focused on getting the Heat back to the top. He signed a two-year, $11 million deal in the summer.
“Obviously people are counting us out, putting all of these teams ahead of us because this team made this move, and this team made that move but at the end of the day, we feel like we can control a lot of things with how we play and how we operate on the court,” Highsmith said on Glenn Clark Radio Oct. 17. “We also say, ‘It’s not about the outside noise, it’s all about us.’ It’s us versus the world. We’re a team that believes that we can beat anyone in the NBA and win a championship.”
Smith, in his fifth NBA season, signed a three-year, $27 million deal with the Chicago Bulls this summer. He is confident the Bulls can bounce back and make a name for themselves in the Eastern Conference after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
“That’s always just speculation,” Smith said on GCR Oct. 18. “Everybody is always going to look down on somebody but at the end of the day, we have to go out and play our game and our brand of basketball. We’re not really too much worried about the outside noise, but instead, we’re just focusing on ourselves and getting better each and every day and just trying to put our best foot forward and take it one game at a time.”
Highsmith, 27, graduated from Division II Wheeling-Jesuit University in 2018 as the program’s all-time leading rebounder (1,251) and third-leading scorer (1,952 points). He helped lead the Cardinals to their first-ever Mountain East Conference Championship during the 2017-18 season.
Highsmith started his professional career with the Delaware Blue Coats after going undrafted in 2018. His hard work and consistency paved the way for opportunities with the Philadelphia 76ers, Crailsheim Merlins (Germany) and now the Heat. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with Miami last season.
“The process of getting here has been long but it’s also been fun,” Highsmith said. “Enjoying the process, the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, all that. It’s been a long, long road, a lot of hard work, a lot of emotions, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, a lot of different things. Just enjoying the process of getting to where I’m at now and I’m blessed to be to where I’m at now.”
Highsmith first learned the importance of brotherhood through basketball at Archbishop Curley High School. His experience as their star player was one of the key elements of his early basketball career.
“The brotherhood is standing strong through everybody,” he said. “Different generations, different ages, doesn’t matter. Everybody’s in the brotherhood we’re all part of the same family.”
Smith, 24, played at Maryland for two years, earning first-team All-Big Ten and All-Defensive Team honors as a sophomore in 2019-20. He was a third-team All-America pick by the Associated Press that season as well. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward/center found his footing in the NBA, averaging 10.2 points and 6.0 points with the Indiana Pacers the last three seasons.
Smith recognizes the importance of having a brother by your side during challenging times. At Maryland, that was fellow Mount Saint Joseph graduate Darryl Morsell.
“Obviously, me and Darryl had the coolest bond,” Smith said. “Darryl is pretty much my big brother, playing together at Mount Saint Joe and then him being one of the main reasons why I went to Maryland — just being able to have him in my corner because I know that when I played with him I felt as like I could do anything.”
Looking ahead to the future of Maryland basketball, Smith believes that former Saint Frances teammates Julian Reese and Derik Queen have the potential to accomplish great things together, much like Smith and Morsell did several years ago.
“I feel as though that them being able to play with each other in high school is just going to help with that chemistry in college,” Smith said. “Being able to know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and being able to build up on it.”
For more from Haywood Highsmith, listen to the full interview here:
For more from Jalen Smith, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Chicago Bulls