Sports : Viking senior Smith among leading state scorers in HS basketball

Only five high school basketball players in all of Iowa have scored more points so far this season than Vinton-Shellsburg's Cole Smith. The Viking senior has scored 195 points, which ties him for sixth among all high school boys this season. Smith also leads all Class 3A players in steals so far, with 26 on the season. "We got off to a slow start offensively, losing the first two games," says Viking coach Joe Johnson. "Since then, we have improved every night. Cole has done a great job and has had a great start to his senior year. He has been very good and carried us through the first couple of games. I really like where we are going into break, sitting 4-0 in the conference. The best part about it is, we can get a lot better. We must clean up some things defensively and continue to improve on the offensive end, getting more scoring from other guys. I'm looking forward to getting back at it." Other individual leaders among the Vikings include senior Nathan Struve, whose 75 rebounds place him third among all Class 3A players. Struve also has blocked 15 shots, which also places him among the top 6 in Class 3A. The Vikings are 6-3 overall and entered the holiday break tied with Benton Community at the top of the Wamac West, with a 4-0 conference record. The Vikings and Bobcats play the first of two games against each other in Vinton on Jan. 10. See the VS score/schedule page HERE.