GROVE CITY, Ohio -- Each year when the district and regional basketball tournament times rolled around, fewer and fewer teams continued playing each week.
NBC 4 Sports' Jerod Smalley reported with the FAST FACTS Monday.
Grove City High School was among the remaining boys teams, thanks to a 6-foot-7-inch standout with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
Though the name Jon Smith grabbed little attention, his most recent basketball game drew college recruiters from across America.
"You can score 50 a night, but if your team doesn't win, it doesn't matter," Smith said. "We have to do something with this to not just be another team."
Rejecting more than 180 shots in the past two seasons, Smith plans to attend St. Louis next year to continue his success both on the court and in the classroom.
Off the court, Smith has worked tirelessly to study his favorite subject – history.
"When you know the mistakes, you don't repeat those," Smith said. "It's the biggest lesson in my life."
Studying others' mistakes in both books and basketball seems to be paying off for Smith who will head to college in the fall.
"I didn't always see this happening," Smith said. "I had to put in the hard work."
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