Like father, like son

By Mark Ambrogi

As a long-time starting center for the Indiana Pacers, Rik Smits has a wealth of firsthand knowledge to pass along to his son, Derrik, a standout on the Zionsville Community High School boys basketball team. But like most other father/son relationships, Rik soon learned that there is only so much a teenager can learn from his dad before he begins to tune him out a bit.

Rik began serving as a volunteer coach for Zionsville High School basketball team when Derrik joined the varsity. He still serves in that role but has backed off a bit to allow Derrik a chance to thrive on his own.

“Early on, I was little gung-ho, you could see what he is doing that may not be the best thing,” the 7’4” Rik said. “I’d say, ‘hey try this or try that.’ Once you find out he doesn’t respond to you anymore, I kind of backed down. If I do say something, it’s usually one thing. I probably threw too much at him all at once.”

The 7-foot Derrik, a senior who has signed to play with Valparaiso University next season, said he knew his father always had his best interest at heart.

“He didn’t think I was having as much fun with it,” Derrik said. “He took a step back to make sure I was having a good time and I can learn on my own. I think it’s helped me in the long run a lot. Obviously he’s helped me more than anyone. I come to him when I have problems.”

Smits watches the game from the stands and sometimes will come down and offer a tip at halftime as Derrik walks off.

“I personally would rather have him up in the stands, because he sees everything and he might get a technical [foul]if he’s on the bench,” Derrik said. “He is really good at watching from a distance.”

Life in Zionsville

Rik, who was also born in the Netherlands, ended up on the northwest side of Indianapolis in 1988 after being drafted by the Indiana Pacers. After many years there and in Hendricks County, he decided to move the family to Zionsville for a variety of reasons, including the top-rate school system.

“I love this side of town,” he said. “It’s close to downtown. It’s close to the airport. It’s not real busy. Most of the [Pacers] players lived on the east side and they always had to deal with traffic. I didn’t want to mess with that.”

He also selected Zionsville to have ample space for his hobby of collecting and racing motorcycles. Derrik used to frequently ride with his dad, but in recent years he has preferred spending time on the family’s indoor basketball court.

“Since he got so serious about basketball, we slowed down on it,” said Rik, who also had to take a break from his motorcycle hobby during the height of his basketball career.

Derrik said he enjoys living in Zionsville, but for different reasons.

“I like the people,” he said. “I grew up with five of these guys [on the ZCHS team]. I’ve been playing nine years with them. The senior group is very close.”

One addition to this year’s team is 6’8” sophomore Cassius Smits-Francisco, Rik’s nephew and Derrik’s cousin who moved from the Netherlands and began living with the family last season.

Derrik said he and his dad occasionally spend time studying game film together, but mostly they just watch basketball games on TV. They watch other 7-foot centers like former Kansas standout Joel Emblid and Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky.

“Half of the time we just watch and enjoy the game,” Derrik said. “The other half if he saw something he made sure to point out something to me and we’d go over it a few times.”

Derrik Smits

Age: 18

What do you want to major in school? Something in sports, maybe marketing or management.

What is your favorite class in school? Psychology. I’m a big fan because you can put it towards life every day.

What do you do to relax? I hang out with friends. I relax at home, lay down or do a hot tub. Play video games like every other teenager.

What’s your favorite video game? NBA 2K.

What’s your favorite type of music? Growing up I was around a lot of different type of music. My mom was in a band, so I listen to anything. I have a wide variety I listen too. There’s not a lot I don’t like.

What’s your favorite TV show? I watch ESPN and “The Walking Dead” I’m a big fan of that.

Rik Smits

Age: 48

Personal: Retired after 12 seasons with Pacers in 2000. Also has a daughter Jasmine, a Zionsville High School graduate who is a junior at the University of Indianapolis. Has large collection of motorbikes and vintage motorcycles.

Favorite restaurant in Zionsville? We change it up a lot. We always like Big Dave’s Deli. We frequent about every restaurant in Zionsville.

How often do you race your motorbikes? I haven’t raced in two years now. My back is starting to feel better. I don’t think I’ll do any more racing, maybe just leisure or trail riding for fun.

What keeps you busy? I have some properties to take care of. We did a home remodel and I spent a lot of time on it and I did a lot myself. I’m a hands-on guy that way. I’m basically just enjoying life.