Stillwater’s Jack Smithton: Academic Athletes Presented By BancFirst

The Stillwater Academic Athlete of the Month is Jack Smithton, a senior basketball player for the Pioneers. Smithton plays the four for Stillwater but operates as more of a guard in their system. “As a senior my role is to be a leader and get the guys going,” said Smithton, “Also just rebounding, taking shots and getting guys open.”

With it being his senior season Smithton takes great pride in being a leader. “When our guys are down, I try to get them hyped up, also just to make sure we’re talking on defense and making sure we’re in the right defense. I also try to take care of the younger guys, because we’re young this year,” said Smithton.

Despite a rough start to the season for Stillwater, Smithton is still optimistic about the rest of the season. “Right now, our goal is to just get a win on our record,” said Smithton, “and after that happens I think it’ll help a lot. Also, over Christmas Break we just need to get in shape and start playing as a team.”

Jack is a standout in the classroom boasting a 3.85 GPA. It’s clear that academics are important to him. “Academics are very important, my mom has always driven me to do my best in school and it’s always been a big part of my life, and I’ve already been accepted to OSU, which has always been a goal of mine,” said Smithton.

Jack plans to major in Business at OSU. Outside of basketball he also played football at Stillwater and is in the HOSA club, a medical program to help raise money for charities.