All-State Basketball Teams include one Bob Jones athlete who’s in the running for Miss Basketball

MADISON- Each of the four local schools are represented among the listings for the Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State Basketball Teams with both boys and girls squads featuring local student-athletes.

Among those chosen is Ja’Kyah Smith of Bob Jones who made the First-Team selection. The 5-foot-10 guard is also a finalist for Miss Basketball as she’s one of three players in Class 7A to be among the finalists. The others to make the elite list include Khloe Ford, 6-3 senior center from Hoover, and Lani Smallwood, the sporty 5-9 senior guard from Albertville.

“The selection for possibly Miss Basketball feels great and I didn’t expect this chance to win this honor,” said Smith, who averaged 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals per game leading the Patriots (27-7) to the Class 7A State Championship Game where they fell to Hoover (35-1) 61-43. “I’ve won numerous awards through the years, but Miss Basketball would the top award.”

Smith was a four-year varsity player for Bob Jones and said in the fifth grade she used to play against boys and by the time she made seventh grade, “I knew I could play and really thought I could do it at a high level.”

The Bob Jones Lady Patriots have two players selected for the All-State Teams. The ASWA Class 7A Second-Team includes sophomore Ella Watts a 6-1 guard/forward. She averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two assists per outing in the just completed season.

On the boys’ side, in Class 7A, local players were selected as Honorable Mention. Alexander Blue, a junior from James Clemens, is a 6-6 forward, and Sparkman’s Landen Malone, a 6-4 junior forward were selected. Madison Academy was not left out of the post-season awards. Junior guard Tahj Phillips at 6-3 was selected for Third-Team in Class 4A.