DENVER — Attending the University of Denver was always the plan for freshman Emma Smith, a legacy student of former Pios tennis standout Michael Smith, but playing hoops for her favorite school? That was a long shot.
"My parents always told me choose a place where you want to go to school, whether or not you're an athlete, so I kind of picked the school first and then everything fell into place," she said.
It fell into place by a series of events she could've never predicted. Her Vestavia Hills High School coach reached out to DU head coach Doshia Woods and insisted she give Smith a chance. While Woods has heard this plea many times, she actually followed through.
"I was coming out here for spring break and we were going to spend a few days in Denver and then go up and ski. So, right when we got into Denver, I came and met with Coach Woods and some of the other coaching staff and three of the girls, and it went great," Smith said. "The whole week went by and I was just skiing, having a great time, waiting, got a call, she ended up offering me, and I couldn't refuse."'
At first, she was considered a preferred walk-on, but with some scholarship openings and the desire to have a full roster by fall, Woods gambled.
"I said, 'what does it hurt?' she's going to come in and work hard and will play significant minutes for us, which is kind of the second steal of my coaching career in 22 years of like, 'did this really just happen?'" Woods said. "And I chalk it up to good things happen to good people, because she's a great addition to the team."
A steal is one way to put it, considering Smith was named First Team All-Alabama selection in both 2021 and 2022, and was the all-time leading scorer at her high school. Woods said she also played the same type of offense that the Pios play, making it an easy transition so far through preseason.
"I tell her all the time, 'you're working really hard, but clearly this was meant to happen and our paths were meant to cross,' and I'm fortunate," Woods said. "She has come in every single day, I don't think there's been a day that she's taken a day off. She works extremely hard because she's still in this whole mindset that she has to keep proving her worth."
She's proved it, alright. She proved to be worth more than her initial walk-on diagnosis, and now the scholarship freshman was even voted as one of the five members of the Pios' leadership team.
"It's really a dream come true and I'm hoping it'll be a great four years and we'll have a lot of success, but I've already had a great time with all of the coaches and all of the girls so far," Smith said. "I'm really excited about what's to come."
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