Missing Jamar

Sometimes, when I daydream, or when it's late at night and I'm sitting in my apartment listening to the howling winds of a New York winter, or when I'm sitting at the end of the bar at Amsterdam Ale House, alone, sipping a Southern Tier Krampus in the middle of the afternoon on a Thursday, my thoughts turn to Jamar Smith and his what-could-have-been career at the University of Illinois.

In these moments, I wonder to myself how good Jamar could have been had he played his career out with the Illini, and, much much more important to me, I wonder how good the Illinois team could have been had Jamar played each of his four seasons with Weber and the boys. He'd be a senior now, raining threes like it's his job, mentoring Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson, taking some of the pressure off those two freshmen, perhaps even teaching Demetri McCamey how to play 40 minutes in full gear. He'd be beastly.

But more than this season, I think of the difference Jamar could have made during the horrendous '07-'08 season and the aborted '08-'09 season when Chester Frazier went down with a season-ending injury on the even of the tournament, leaving a very solid Illinois team to play without its senior leader. In '07-'08, Jamar would have provided the outside offense and ability to hit free throws that Shaun Pruitt-led team needed most. And last year, had Jamar played, Weber could have used Trent Meacham as a super-sub 6th man, and let Jamar and Chester start at the guard spots along with McCamey. That would have been a dominant group throughout the season, and would have lessened the blow of Chester's injury come tournament time.

All this is brought home now because Jamar was named the Division II national player of the month for December. Over the course of the season, Jamar, playing for the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, is averaging 23.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. He's also shooting 50% on threes and 84% from the line. His recognition for December did not even include a 40-point outburst he had last Saturday. In a word, he has been dominant.

Jamar will always be one of my favorites because he is a lights-out three-point shooter who happened to attend my same high school - Richwoods in Peoria, IL. It's sad he couldn't stay at Illinois, but I'm glad to see he is doing well with the vaunted Screaming Eagles of South Indy.