For the first time since 2016, Boulder High Boys Basketball won the title of league champion. A large part of that win was due to Lake Smith’s, ‘26, on-court efforts. December’s panther athlete of the month, Lake Smith averaged 15.7 points per game this year and ended the season with a point total of 376 points.
Smith began playing basketball in second grade because his dad played and he grew up aspiring to be like the NBA players he saw on TV. He says his favorite part of the sport is “ playing in big moments in front of big crowds of people.”
For Smith, basketball is a family affair. His dad Matthew Smith, is the team’s head coach and his younger brother plays for Boulder High’s freshman basketball team. Although Smith’s dad inspired him to play basketball originally, Smith says having him as his coach “can be difficult at times.” Smith says that this is mainly because some people believe his success in the program is a result of his dad being the coach. He said, “Once people put aside that my dad’s the coach, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Due to the team’s success this season, their games drummed up quite the crowds. During the Fairview vs Boulder game, the stands were packed with fans from both schools, including many Boulder fans rooting for not only the Panthers, but Smith specifically.
Smith is a captain on the team and says his role is to “be a good player and model to everyone else who is on the team, and all the younger players in the program.” He commends the team’s “very positive” environment that he helped to build as captain. Because of this positive environment, Smith identifies his favorite moment in the basketball program as one more about his team members than the game itself, saying “my favorite moment was making it to states which gave me more time to play with my dogs.” Due to his commitment to being a strong team member and his success on the court, Smith was voted as team MVP by his teammates for the ‘24-‘25 season.
The Boulder High Boys Basketball varsity team made their last appearance at states before this year in 2019. Smith’s powerful scoring ability had a great impact on the team’s successful performance this year, which brought them more success than they had seen since 2019. This season in the December 11th game versus Horizon High School, Smith scored 27 points, more than any of his teammates by nine points.
The Panthers finished this season with a 14-11 record and an 11-1 record in league play. Smith says the team found success this year by “trusting each other every game.” More specifically, Smith says that making it to states felt “amazing and really special,” and was achieved because “we believed that we could do it and executed it.”
The energy was high when the team won the state tournament qualifying game. The team was playing Westminster High School for the second time in the season on February 18th. After beating the Wolves 67-54, seniors on the team cut down the nets in celebration. After an almost 6-year playoff drought, the Panthers had qualified for states, a moment that Smith will forever remember.
Smith had high hopes for his junior year season. He hoped to “ play in a state playoff game and average more than 10 ppg.” Smith achieved both of these goals, by qualifying for states and averaging over 15 points per game this season.
Smith is continuing to aim high in what he hopes to achieve in basketball. Next year, he hopes that the team will “make it further in states” and he aspires to “hit 1000 career points.” Not only does he hold goals for his Boulder High basketball career, Smith also hopes to commit to play college basketball.
Until then, Smith hopes to make more memories such as the ones he made this season, like “scoring the last second game winner vs Mountain Range.” When reflecting on his basketball career thus far, Smith says, “Basketball has brought me not only opportunities to play in college but to also travel the country with my friends and grow bigger and stronger relationships.”
