The UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team entered this season with eight freshmen coming into the program. As such a young team, the players were expected to go through the struggles of adapting to the more fast-paced college game and perhaps take a while to progress. For Adam Smith, a second-team Parade All-American from Jonesboro, Ga., this has not been the case.

Coming in with arguably the most hype of all the UNCW freshman, Smith entered the Seahawk program and begun making a name for himself right away. Fans and opponents alike received an early notice of Smith’s big-play ability when he scored 32 points against Wake Forest University just a little over a month into his collegiate career. He has since led the team in scoring for much of the season, at one point ranking 3rd nationally in freshman scoring. However, what surprises coach Buzz Peterson the most is not Smith’s ability to score, but his constant hunger to mature and hone his skills.

“He’s been a big boost in the sense that it’s not just the scoring and everything. He’s a young man that wants to soak up all the coaching; he wants to learn,” said Peterson. “I’ve always told Adam: the two biggest things coming from high school to college are going to be strength and defense. He’s the type of young man that will keep competing, keep fighting to correct his issues.”

Smith knew at an early age not only that he wanted to play basketball at a more competitive level, but that he was capable of performing at that level.

“My dad used to play,” Smith said. “When I was a baby, my family used to take me to a bunch of his games when he played recreational leagues, and I fell in love with it. He got me a goal when I was five years old, and it just took off from there.”

One of the most significant benefits Smith’s early success has had on the basketball squad has been taking pressure off other players, something junior Keith Rendleman cites as an important part of the overall team progression.

“He adds excitement. As a freshman, coming in scoring like this, it’s a big deal. You don’t see too many freshmen that can score like him and do some of the things he does,” said Rendleman. “Most of the teams we play know of me and him, so that’s where the rest of the players step up, and they’ve been doing a good job of that and that’s just something we need to continue to do.”

While the individual accomplishments have been there for Smith this year, he has also faced the struggles a young team is expected to go through. Although he shot over 47 percent in four of the team’s first five games, the Seahawks began the season 0-5. The Seahawks are currently in a funk, as they have only won two of their past 13 games. Nevertheless, Peterson sees a bright future for Smith and hopes he will be a major cog in the team turning its fortunes around.

“I think he’s not a freshman really because he’s played so many minutes. I think he’s a young man that’s going to improve, getting better and better,” Peterson said. “When it’s all said and done, he’s probably one of the top three or four scorers in school history. He keeps it up; I expect him to pick it up on his verbal a little bit, talking and becoming a leader. Now that he’s got an asterisk besides his name, a marked man, he’s got to be able to step up.”

It’s something Adam Smith will take in stride, learning from his freshman season, taking both the positives and negatives. But he knows he must continue to progress at this rate if he wants to accomplish his primary goals: “I want to win the CAA championship,” Smith said. “Hopefully make the NCAA Tournament and, of course, win that, too.”