Thomas Jefferson’s Curtis Smith wasn’t even scheduled to participate in the Mayor’s Cup boys basketball competition at Baruch College until teammate Shamorie Ponds intervened.
Seniors Ponds and Rasheem Dunn were the only Jefferson representatives, but Ponds decided to give up his spot on the roster to allow Smith to participate.
“He’s supposed to be in this game,” said Ponds, who watched from the stands. “He showed up all year, he deserves to play in this game.”
Smith responded with a 13-point performance on the afternoon — his final official high-school game.
The game featured the best senior players from public schools all across New York City. Smith’s team — composed of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island players — fell to a team of Bronx and Queens players 105–89 on April 3 at Baruch College.
But the all-star game’s real focus was on the individual performances.
Smith has not decided where he’ll play in college, and was glad Ponds gave him one last chance to impress potential coaches.
“Shamorie, he’s basically an All-American … so he just gave me an opportunity to showcase my talent, so they could see how good I really am,” Smith said. “He’s a humble dude, he doesn’t only look for himself, he looks to get other players better … he’s just a good guy.”
Smith’s career at Jefferson wrapped up after the Orange Wave took home the state Federation championship last month. Now the graduating senior will now focus on where he’ll play basketball next season.
“I looked at a couple of Division II’s … so I’ll probably be choosing in about a month to see where I’m going,” Smith said. “[The Mayor’s Cup] does a lot, because the season is over and I have nothing else to do, so I just have to work and try to get a Division I scholarship.”
But Ponds’s act of kindness did remove the possibility of him playing one final high-school game with his longtime friend and teammate Dunn. The two have been playing basketball together since about the fifth grade, and they will now become city rivals next year as Ponds plays at St. John’s and Dunn goes to St. Francis.
“It’s tough, I’ll miss all of them … all of the seniors,” Ponds said.
Dunn took losing his final chance to play with his longtime best friend in stride.
“We’re still in the gym with each other to this day, even after the season we’re still in the gym with each other, working out with each other, getting ready for next season when we do play against each other,” Dunn said.
Looking forward to next season, Dunn will get a chance to remain in Brooklyn at St. Francis. The Terriers could use a point guard like Dunn who can attack the basket.
“Next year, I’m coming in, and I’m trying to bring the buzz back to St. Francis,” he said.
Van Arsdale’s Rice earns most valuable player in girls’ contest: Harry Van Ardsdale forward Nina Rice scored a game-high 22 points to lead her team to a 67–63 win in the Mayor’s Cup girls’ game. Midwood’s Jai Moore, who is headed to Niagara, tallied 15 points for the losing side — including two in the second half. Grand Street’s Kaisha Lucky chipped in nine points for the winning side.
