BOYS BASKETBALL: Smith hopes to end career with state title in basketball after falling short in football

To this day, Jordan Smith still feels he had a state title taken away from him.

In his junior season as Columbia’s quarterback, he led the football team to a 9-1 regular-season record, a district championship and the No. 1 seed in the region.

But in Round 2 of the playoffs against Robert E. Lee, Smith suffered a severe ankle sprain in the first half and only returned in the second half to throw a pick-6. The Tigers were upset my the Generals, a game Smith believes they should’ve won.

“I wanted one in football but sometimes things don’t go the way you expect them to go,” Smith said.

Smith came up short again against Lee in the second round of the playoffs this past fall, losing a heartbreaker, 6-3, in overtime. There would be no championship for the USF signee.

Well, at least not in football. Instead, Smith is on the doorstep of a state title, just not in the sport he dreamed about.

Smith has helped lead Columbia’s basketball team to the Class 6A Final Four, its first since 1968. The Tigers face Dillard tonight at 6 p.m. in Lakeland, giving Smith one last chance to raise an FHAAA trophy on the grandest stage. 

Nothing will ever remove the sorrow from coming up short on the gridiron, but getting a ring on the hardwood would be sweet for Smith, who is the only four-year varsity player on the roster.

“It would mean a lot but I’ll never forget about football season and the memories with those guys because I wanted really bad to get a ring in football but it didn’t work out that way,” Smith said. “But going all the way with basketball would mean a lot. I know it means a lot to those guys too.”

Basketball was Smith’s first love. He played on the AAU circuit through middle school and it wasn’t until he was named the starting quarterback of the J.V. team that Smith began to realize that football was his true passion.

One year later, Smith split time as the varsity team’s starting quarterback before taking the job for good as a junior, pushing basketball to the backseat. But the senior never left basketball behind. He stuck with Columbia’s program and he’s been a crucial asset in helping build a winning culture with head coach Steve Faulkner.

Even when Smith had to depart from summer ball to get ready for football season, he always promised Faulkner he’d return.

“He hasn’t played with us the past two summers, which I understood,” Faulkner said. “He needed to focus on quarterback and I wasn’t dummy, I knew he was probably going to be a college football player. But he told me, ‘Coach, I’m with you during the season.’ So he’s been a pleasure to coach for the last four years and I’m glad that he’ll be on my bench (tonight).”

Basketball was an afterthought at Columbia in Smith’s freshman season. The Tigers didn’t even make the playoffs before finally ending a four-year drought in 2018, only to get ousted in the first round by Englewood.

But Smith helped the Tigers win their first district title since 2000 in his junior season, leading the team in scoring. That was only the start too, as Columbia went on to make the regional finals.

Smith and company lost to eventual state champion Crestview, but a new standard had been set. To see the Tigers now in the Final Four has been a pleasant sight for Smith, who has watched the program start near the bottom and rise toward the top.

“It was like a cycle. It was like we all had to wait our turn,” Smith said. “I feel bad for those seniors that didn’t get a chance to experience this. I already know it’s going to be a good experience. Coach Faulkner said there’s no other feeling like it so when I get down there the guys are going to be excited and I’m going to be excited. Going down there with this group of guys is going to be great.”

Faulkner is thankful Smith stuck around. Not all football players do, and Faulkner has seen his share depart to focus on the other sport.

With Smith, he’s had a reliable leader on and off the court that he’s needed in his program to get it to where it is today. To have Smith see the process through all the way to the Final Four brings a smile to Faulkner’s face.

And Faulkner will admit it too — he also expected Smith to get a state title in football before basketball.

“When he got named the starting quarterback you probably would have thought that he’d have a better chance at football, so it’s funny,” Faulkner said. “He’s been such a stable force for us because I know what I’m getting out of Jordan every game,” Faulkner said. “He’s the only four-year guy here and he started a lot of games as a freshman, so he’s going to make an impact (tonight). I’m not sure how, but he’ll make an impact. His toughness and competitiveness kind of filters through the rest of the team and kind of breeds the toughness we have.”

Smith is hungry for his one last shot at a title. It won’t replace the losses in football but it certainly will make them sting a little less.

He’ll hit the court in Lakeland tonight with a smile too. After all, it was his first love.

“Don’t get me wrong, football is where my heart is at and that’s what I love to do,” Smith said. “I would have loved to have gotten a ring with football but it didn’t happen. But to get a ring in basketball, that would be great.”