KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. – Attention AAU coaches and players: If the game is on the line, odds are Dayshon Smith is getting the ball.
The odds are even greater the shot is going in. Just ask the New Jersey Cyclones. Smith’s top-of-the-key 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded sent the New York Gauchos into the Summer Classic East 16U quarterfinals Monday afternoon at Competitive Edge Sports with a 49-47 victory.
“I have a lot of confidence in my shot,” said Smith, who attended since-closed Rice for two years and plans to transfer to St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.) in the fall.
This wasn’t the first time this summer Smith has pulled off last-second theatrics. He virtually carried the Gauchos to the Rumble in the Bronx 16U crown as well, making clutch free throws and 3-pointers down the stretch.
“I was just talking to Tyler [Wilson], lately I’ve been scoring all my points at the end of games,” he said.
Wilson led the Gauchos with 16 points while Smith added 11 and Jordan Fuchs had six.
The Gauchos two wins – they beat the New Jersey Pirates, 70-54, earlier in the day – combined with New Heights’ two victories made an all-city final a very realistic possibility. New Heights, by contrast, cruised to a pair of double-digit victories over Kingdom Elite (N.J.) and Jersey Shore Warriors (Pa.). The two sides last met at Rumble, won by the Gauchos.
There was, however, an asterisk as far as New Heights is concerned.
“It was a weird one for us, a few guys showed up late, but that’s not a reason to lose,” New Heights/Cardinal Hayes forward Jalen Jenkins said.
That being said, the renowned Bronx AAU program didn’t have elite big man Dakari Johnson then and won’t have him tomorrow, either, as he is battled a sprained ankle suffered during the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio. Fuchs, the Christ the King rising junior, has emerged, limiting the significance of the 6-foot-10 Johnson’s absence.
With or without Johnson, it’s been a memorable AAU season for the Gauchos 16U team. In addition to the Rumble crown, they won the King of New York title and reached the semifinals of the King James Shooting Stars Classic.
“This is real important because the showcase in Orlando is coming up and without Dakari,” Smith said, “nobody expects us to do well without him.”