[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING EDWARDSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL'S SENIOR GUARD MARK SMITH

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                           HON. RODNEY DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 4, 2017

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Edwardsville High School's senior guard Mark Smith, who is now better 
known as Mr. Basketball of Illinois for the 2016-2017 season.
  Mark received the Mr. Basketball honor after a senior season in which 
he filled up the stats sheet. Over the course of the season, Mark 
averaged 21.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 8.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per 
game. He recorded double figures in 31 of the Tigers' 32 games, and had 
eight games in which he scored more than 30 points. In the championship 
game of the Ottawa sectional, Mark scored a career-high 45 points in 
Edwardsville's win over Danville.
  Outside of Mark's individual statistics, the Tigers' boys basketball 
season was an unforgettable one in the Metro East, as the team finished 
30-2 and played in the Class 4A Super-Sectional in Normal.
  In addition to the Mr. Basketball honor, Mark was named the 
``Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year,'' and has scholarship offers 
from multiple Division 1 schools.
  I had the opportunity to meet Mark at an event for the Mannie Jackson 
Center for the Humanities last month, and was truly impressed by this 
young man. I am proud to congratulate Mark on his spectacular senior 
season and receiving this honor, and look forward to continuing to 
follow his basketball career.

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