Peyton Smith a revelation for Fairfield in adverse times

Peyton Smith has blossomed for Fairfield after being thrust into an early starting role with Stags’ frontcourt injuries. (Photo by Fairfield Athletics)

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

As the offseason started to wind down, it looked more likely than not that Peyton Smith would have to wait another year before playing Division I basketball.

Smith had recently graduated from Hudson Falls High School, where he was a five-sport athlete, and was prepared to take his hoops talent to Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut until he found his home at the collegiate level. A few schools called, but Fairfield was the fit he liked the most.

“He said to us, ‘I would absolutely say yes to Fairfield next year,’” Peyton’s father, Greg, told The Daily Gazette in late July shortly after Smith signed his NLI with the Stags. “So I said, ‘why would we not say yes to it right now?’”

Fast forward to today, almost a third of the way into the 2023-24 campaign, the decision to attend Fairfield has turned out to be a boon for all parties. When Smith arrived at Fairfield, he was merely looking to grow into his role as a backup and provide depth to a program that had been washed thin in the frontcourt through the transfer portal. Out went Supreme Cook and Chris Maidoh, and in came Birima Seck, Alexis Yetna, and the 6-foot-10 Smith, who chose Fairfield over the likes of Manhattan, Niagara, and Lehigh. Year one figured to be a development year, which would allow Smith to learn from the more experienced ways of Seck and Yetna, who was already recovering from an injury that would likely land him back in the Stags’ rotation somewhere around late December. 

Everything changed, however, when Seck went down with a high ankle sprain a few days before the season started. At the time, Fairfield was already without former head coach Jay Young, who resigned from his post on October 16, and was simply trying to piece together an assortment of new players that could improve on a 13-18 record from a season ago. 

Seck, a transfer from New Mexico, was Exhibit B for Fairfield after Cook took his talents to Georgetown on May 11, one day before the portal closed. Known for his rim protecting ability and offering valuable length at 6-foot-11, Seck had become a popular subject of cautiously optimistic Fairfield fans by the time he suffered the injury. He debuted against Sacred Heart last Saturday, when he hit a free throw and added a block in only six minutes off the bench. 

While Seck was out, Fairfield had no choice but to turn to Exhibit C, which meant riding with Smith until the rest of the frontcourt pieces healed. There have been growing pains along the way, such as the season-opening matchup with Boston College’s 7-foot big man Quinten Post that saw Post score 31 points and grab 11 rebounds on Smith in a 19-point loss for the Stags. But for a lightly-recruited freshman like Smith, nothing was supposed to come easy, and it’s also fair to wonder if some of the early struggles were equally a testament to the entire Stags squad having to learn how to play through mistakes on the fly. Still, given the holes in the frontcourt, Smith had to deal with a large chunk of the early adversity thrown Fairfield’s way.

“There’s nothing but encouragement for him,” Fairfield interim coach Chris Casey said. “It’s great when you can play and your teammates have faith in you. That has contributed to his maturity and growth.”

Smith has really come alive amid the Stags’ three-game winning streak, which included wins over Rider, Yale, and Sacred Heart, producing averages of 10.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.3 blocks for the versatile freshman in that stretch. Against Rider, Smith recorded his first career double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He followed that up with some timely plays down the stretch against Yale and Sacred Heart in which he showcased a stroke of confidence working in the paint. Smith has also made nice strides working out of the pick-and-roll, showing off that element of his game against Yale when Jalen Leach found him on the roll for an emphatic two-handed slam late in regulation. During the ensuing timeout, Smith showed his emotions with a loud yell and a few fist pumps. 

“I love that connection,” Smith said. “When we get the pick-and-roll going pretty good and get them moving side to side, it’s usually pretty effective.”

His challenge last week came against Sacred Heart’s Alex Sobel, a crafty 6-foot-8 big who is a handful in the post. Although Sobel had his moments, Smith won the battle and did his part in helping force Sobel into four turnovers. While Fairfield rose to the occasion as a team in the second half at Sacred Heart, Smith raised his caliber as well, doing a little of everything, including throwing a beautiful bounce pass to a cutting James Johns, Jr. for a layup. Given Fairfield’s high volume of ball handlers, there isn’t much of an opportunity for Smith to play as a point center, even though his 14 assists this season do suggest his potential as a facilitator. 

“I’m always a guy that's never going to be a selfish person,” Smith said after playing Sacred Heart. “When I catch the ball in the post, I love passing it. I’m going to take my buckets when I can get them, but I have no problem facilitating and passing out to the guys on the perimeter.”

The adjustments made by Smith to be more comfortable and confident on offense seem to have worked. In order to unlock that, he dedicated himself to improving his conditioning and foot speed that was good enough to let him thrive in high school, but still behind compared to his Division I counterparts. Casey has said Smith is a different player now compared to a month ago thanks to the conditioning element. As a result, Fairfield is getting way more out of Smith on both ends, but most critically on defense.

“I put in a lot of work this summer getting in really good shape,” Smith said. “That definitely has helped me improve a lot on the defensive end.”

Jalen Leach acknowledged Smith was beginning to come into his own over the summer, which included the preseason trip to Costa Rica where the Stags played and won three games. Leach voiced the Stags’ collective belief in Smith, as reiterated by Casey too, and how increased reps and better conditioning were always going to be the keys for Smith’s success. 

“We threw him into the fire right away,” Leach said. “We didn’t have any other bigs. He was our only true center and he played a lot of minutes right away. We knew that once he got his conditioning right and his feel right, that he would be good.”

The Stags are especially bullish about the frontcourt situation, considering what Smith has been able to achieve, and the anticipated boost from the pending health of both Seck and Yetna. Now that Seck is back and ramping up, Smith is able to benefit from some much-needed rest that he wasn’t afforded early on. Add Yetna into the fold, and suddenly there could be a three-headed monster of sorts built for a deep run.

“I think when all of our guys get back, we are going to be pretty dangerous,” said Smith, who turned 18 after Yetna turned 26 in October. “We are going to be going hard for four-minute spurts and then we can make subs. We can really just push the pace even more and get out and run.”

For now, Smith can appreciate the several tests he’s passed with flying colors, while having a sense of self-belief that he will benefit over the long run from having been thrown into the fire. That sense of belief can be partially attributed to the mentorship he has received from his veteran comrades.

“Those two guys injured have been really positive guys,” Smith said of the encouragement from both Seck and Yetna. “Their positive reinforcement has really given me confidence to go out there and do what I do.”