By Abbey Venham

COVINGTON, Ga. — At only 13 years old, Liberty Middle School point guard London Smith is a highly touted player in the class of 2027. Her future seems bright, but her goals as a basketball player are bigger than just her. 

Smith wants to inspire other athletes in the area. 

“I want to make it to the WNBA so that kids coming from Covington can know that it’s much bigger than just Covington,” Smith said.

She started playing when she was just three years old and has worked her way up to being one of the best young point guards in Georgia. When she started playing at Liberty, she began to set goals and work as hard as possible to achieve them. 

Smith studies other people’s games as a way to improve. When she faces opposing teams, Smith doesn’t go through the motions; she studies the strengths of her opponents and certain moves that they use on the court, and then she tries to apply them in her own game. 

That’s how she gives them “a taste of their own medicine.” 

“Seeing what I can learn from them when I play [other teams] and making sure that I can be the best that I can be,” Smith said in reference to her favorite part of the game. 

In her spare time, Smith watches the WNBA and college games on television, but not for entertainment. The moves Smith sees Division I players and the professionals use are food for thought for the next time she steps foot on the court. 

Not only does she study basketball off the court, her current coach — Liberty girls head coach Jarmichael Sanders — has noticed Smith stepping up for the Lady Knights. 

“I let her lead,” Sanders said. “She’s a great team leader because she’s highly vocal.” 

When it comes to leadership on and off the court, Smith doesn’t want to stop at the middle school level. Her plans for the future are to play Division I basketball en route to a WNBA career. LSU and UCLA are two programs that have caught Smith’s eye. 

Smith’s goal is to prove that athletes from a small town, such as Covington, can still make it. 

She is determined to reach the highest level and the attention that comes from being nationally ranked at her age brings her one step closer to reaching her goals. 

“It feels good, but I know that there’s a lot more work that I have to put in because everyone is coming for that No. 1 spot,” Smith said. 

She plans to continue to lead her team and work hard on and off the court to get her game where she wants it before graduating high school and fulfilling her ultimate potential. 

“From my eighth grade year until my 12th grade year, I’m going to keep building on that,” Smith said. 

Currently, the 5-foot-7 eighth grader averages 30 points, eight rebounds, five assists and seven steals per game. She enjoys converting 3-pointers. But the only thing that could top the feeling of swishing a three is her aspiration to one day jump high enough for a slam dunk. 

Coach Sanders believes that Smith will improve every day so that her game will lead her to the success she dreams about. 

“I just hope I can get her better,” Sanders said. “I want to keep the momentum and make sure she doesn’t lose interest in basketball.”