When it Reynes, it scores

Tom Hersz for NBL.com.au.

It can be easy to get caught up in the hype, but that’s not how Reyne Smith is wired.

The Tasmanian product, who just started his rookie season with the Cairns Taipans, learnt at a young age that every day matters and there are no shortcuts.

Growing up in North West Tasmania, an area with such a rich basketball history, Smith was naturally drawn to the sport.

“There's not too much else to do in North West Tassie, really, so you kind of get behind sports a lot. And growing up, seeing basketball and doing all that, I just loved it,” he told NBL Media on Saturday ahead of his first professional game.

Mark Radford, who is an assistant coach with the Tasmania JackJumpers, was someone that Smith got to know quite well through junior state programs, and it’s Radford who Smith credits with being a big influence on his approach.

“He really showed me the way that basketball should be played and the approach of every day,” Smith explained.

“So, he was definitely an influence and helped shape who I am now.”

That approach led to Smith attending the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence and ultimately being recruited to play NCAA Division I basketball at the College of Charleston.

It was there that Smith continued to build a reputation as a knockdown shooter. He made 90 three-pointers in 32 games as a freshman, hit 92 threes as a sophomore and then hit 112 threes at a 39 per cent clip as a junior.

Smith transferred to the University of Louisville in the ACC for his senior year and continued to perform at a high level, starting 18 games and hitting 107 threes at 38 per cent.

But as much as he’s known for his shooting and scoring, there’s another aspect to Smith’s game that really developed during his four years in college, and that’s his defence.

“I came in my freshman year definitely not being able to really guard at that good of a level against better athletes,” he admitted.

“And I think I really took a different approach to that and really took it as personal that I wanted to be out there on the court, so I've got to be able to guard.

“So, it took a lot of time [working] on my body, getting stronger, quicker. And I think I came a long way in that aspect as well.”

Smith had a good showing at the Adidas Euro Camp in Italy and had several pre-draft workouts with NBA teams, but was not drafted in June. However, he still found his way to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League and played a couple of games there.

Just from being in an NBA environment, he learned more about how to approach things as a professional and certainly learned to always stay ready for whenever his name may be called.

But it was at Boomers’ camp ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup, where Smith truly got a sense of how he can be of value at the next level. He went into camp with no expectations of making or not making the team. He just wanted to give it his all and definitely had a “whatever happens, happens” approach.

His only expectations were to soak it all in.

“Just learn and kind of be around that Australian Boomers’ culture, and understand what I was there to do. And that's play for your country,” he said.

“And I don't really have any separate agendas other than wanting to make the team and winning that gold medal. So that was really the focus, and I loved every second of that.”

He made the team and got to play a solid rotational role in Jeddah. In the group phase, Smith had back-to-back double-digit scoring games, hitting four three-pointers against both Lebanon and Qatar. His 18 points against Lebanon was an equal team-high in that game.

He averaged 9 points per game across his 5 games and helped the Boomers advance past Iran in the semifinals, on their way to winning the gold medal over China.

Smith learned a lot from that tournament that he’s used ahead of his NBL debut.

“Just knowing I can compete at that level, and playing against and with guys in the NBL,” he explained.

“And knowing I can perform with that team and perform in that environment kind of gave me a lot of confidence going into my first professional season.”

Smith signed with the Cairns Taipans while at Boomers Camp and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that his path has been very similar to fellow North West Tasmanian, Taran Armstrong.

Smith hails from Ulverstone, while Armstrong is from just up the road in Burnie, but he also went from Tasmania to College to the Taipans. And Armstrong, who signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors towards the end of the 2024-25 NBA season, is someone that Smith has reached out to, given that connection and similar pathway.

“Yeah, I've talked to him,” Smith said of Armstrong.

“I did the Adidas Euro Camp in Italy, which he went to, and before that I'd talked to him about what to expect.

“And as I started talking to Cairns and Fordey more, I asked Taran, and I respect everything he's got to say, and he'll tell me pretty much everything and how his experience was.

“And it was really all positive things. So, yeah, I talk to him regularly for that.”

That leads us to Saturday night in Melbourne. The Taipans were in town to start their NBL26 season against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

It’s 90 minutes out from the tip-off of his first regular season professional game and Smith, who is in the starting five, was feeling pretty good about what was to come, without too many nerves.

“Just excited, and there's a lot of unknown kind of going into my first professional game. So, I don't really know too much [of] what to expect,” he acknowledged.

“I'm going out there to just play free and relaxed and play my game. And just rely on my teammates as well to help me and to talk to them as much as possible throughout the game.

“So, yeah, just play my game and just have fun out there.”

His goals for his first game and this coming season are very much team first and he leans into that and how Fordey has prepared the team.

“First of all is to win. I think none of the individual stats really matter if you don't win,” said Smith.

“So, I've got personal goals of wanting to be one of the best shooters in the league and different things like that, but overall I want to win, and I believe the team that we've got and Fordey's plan, how he approaches every day and practice and stuff is definitely something I wanted to get behind.

“So overall, it doesn't really matter if we don't win, so that's my main priority, and however I can do that, I will.”

The game does not go well for the Taipans. After an ugly start by both teams, the Phoenix turn up their defensive pressure, denying the ball carrier and making it tough for Cairns to get into any kind of offensive rhythm. An 8 point margin at quarter time grows to 15 points halfway through the second and balloons to 24 points by halftime.

Smith missed his first shot, a floater, but then nailed his next one from long-range – his first NBL points. He nailed another three in the second quarter to give him 6 points and 4 rebounds at half-time.

But it was in the third quarter where Smith really got going and found some rhythm. He made two more threes and hit seven of eight free throws to pour in 13 points in that period alone.

And despite the game getting away from them, Smith ended up leading the Taipans in scoring with his 19 points, hitting 4 of 8 from deep, while grabbing 6 rebounds including two on the offensive end.

After the game, Smith, who wanted to play free and relaxed, was realistic about what had happened and how the game played out.

“Yeah, I mean, it definitely took a half for myself and us to kind of figure some things out, and kind of slow down and take a deep breath,” he said.

“I felt like we got sped up really well and credit to South East for doing that. But second half, [I] just tried to calm down a little bit, take my time and overall, happy with the performance. But just easy things we can fix to come out better next week.”

The first game for any player at a professional level can be eye-opening. You can plan, practice, watch film and visualise things as much as possible, and still be somewhat surprised when you actually hit the floor.

Smith, who has played against and with pros for the Boomers and at NBA Summer League, still learned some great lessons in his debut game.

“Not that I was surprised, but just kind of [the] level of shot making of professional basketball players,” Smith reflected.

“It's a little different when you're in college when there's 18 to 22 year olds. You're not as sharp with stuff, so say if you have a possession off, there's guys going to cook you. So definitely that, and I think overall what I found is, if you let guys get rhythm, they're going to make it.”

Smith himself though, also got into a rhythm in this game. Hitting his first three-point attempt settled any nerves, and he then took what the defence gave him, especially in the third quarter where he was able to get free for some clean looks and get to the free throw line repeatedly.

His assessment of his own game afterwards was positive, despite the game result, but he knows it’s just the first step in his journey and he has a lot to work on.

“Pretty good,” he said of his debut game.

“I felt like in the third quarter especially, [I was] looking to just be a little bit more aggressive and use that pressure against them. They'll try and overwhelm you and you just kind of keep calm, and kind of reset myself at half time.

“So, definitely happy with first hit out in my professional world. Excited to watch film and get after it next week.”

Hitting four threes on debut is just a glimpse of what we can expect from someone who came into professional basketball with a ready-made catchphrase – ‘Make it Reyne’.

It’s been used a lot during Smith’s games at the FIBA Asia Cup and during the Blitz, but he is in no way sick of hearing it.

“No, not really. I think it's pretty cool how it's all kind of worked out, being a shooter named Reyne,” he said.

“So, I definitely embrace it more than not like it. I think it makes too much sense not to use.”

But like everything in Smith’s journey so far, he comes back to the lessons he learned in Ulverstone growing up. Put in the work each day, take everything one day at a time and focus on getting better, day by day.

Smith would love to follow in the footsteps of Taran Armstrong by developing his game under Adam Forde and getting another shot at the NBA.

“The goal is always to get to the NBA, and if I can find a path that way, then, yeah, for sure.”

But for now, his focus is not on what might be in two to three years’ time. It’s on what he needs to do today, then tomorrow as he keeps working on his game to give himself every opportunity that may come his way in time.

“Just continue to improve every day. I'm far from a finished product and I think if I take a day-by-day approach of getting better, who knows where I could be in three years’ time,” said Smith.

“So, I try not to get ahead of myself like that and set those goals. That time will come when it does. But I’ve got to really focus on now and improve every single day.”

The Cairns Taipans play their next game at home versus the Brisbane Bullets on Friday, September 26, live on ESPN from 7.30pm AEST.