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The 2017 Whitewater High School graduate has learned that home is not necessarily a place, but that it can be a feeling.

“I’ve always been a homebody,� Smith Traore said in a phone interview last week. “But I think that I really needed this to learn more about the world and more about myself.�

She went about two years without playing meaningful minutes in a basketball game, but Smith Traore has now carved out a starting role for the womenÃÛèÖÊÓƵ basketball team at Division I Saint Louis.

March to the Arch

It took a year for Smith Traore to make it to Saint Louis University, which is just more than a five-hour drive from Whitewater.

She was a standout with the Whippets, earning all-state honors, ÃÛèÖÊÓƵÃÛèÖÊÓƵ area player of the year award as both a junior and senior and winning a state championship as a sophomore in 2015.

Smith Traore had multiple Division I college offers, including one from former Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone at Saint Louis, but committed to Marquette.

“Being close to home and somewhere where my friends and family from Whitewater can come support me, and where I’m not too far away to come home and support them, too, is the ideal situation,â€� she told ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ at the time that she verbally committed.

Unfortunately, the fit did not work out as well as expected for Smith Traore and the Golden Eagles. She saw action in 11 games as a true freshman, averaging 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in just more than 7 minutes per game.

She announced on Twitter in April 2018 that she would transfer, thanking those in the Marquette program and wishing them success moving forward. Smith Traore, in those moments, faced the daunting feeling of not knowing what was next.

“I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do,â€� Smith Traore said. “But I always had a good relationship with Lisa Stone in high school. SheÃÛèÖÊÓƵ from Wisconsin and reminds me of (former Whitewater High head coach Judy) Harms in so many ways.

“I remember calling her when I committed to Marquette in high school. We were both crying, and I just told her I wanted to be closer to home. She told me that she’d always have a jersey for me if anything happened. I always remembered that.�

And so Smith Traore had her high school AAU coach reach out to Stone to see if the Billikens had a scholarship open.

“When I got my release, Coach Stone called me,� Smith Traore said. “I came on a couple visits and had some other schools with interest, but this just felt like I was coming back home. I just had to commit.�

Another year of waiting

While Smith Traore did get some minutes at Marquette, they were not typically in meaningful situations.

Last year at Saint Louis, she had to sit out to satisfy NCAA transfer rules.

“ItÃÛèÖÊÓƵ definitely been a process,â€� she said. “I was close with my teammates last year, because you spend all your time together. But not being able to travel, because I was a redshirt, really hurt me. They were able to make these memories on the road and were gone all the time.â€�

Now that Smith Traore can take part in all activities, home and away, she is making the most of it.

And the fact that Stone—who coached eight years at Wisconsin and 12 at UW-Eau Claire—has built a roster with just two seniors and two juniors has Smith Traore excited about not only the present but the future, as well.

“ThatÃÛèÖÊÓƵ fun, because we can all relate to each other a lot,â€� she said. “ItÃÛèÖÊÓƵ been awesome to be able to play again. The last time I really played significant minutes in a basketball game was high school.

“So I’m really happy, but I’m also still getting back into the swing of things, playing more minutes, and just some of the basketball IQ things that you need and get from playing in live situations.�

A starting spot

Smith Traore is not just back on the basketball court, she is back in a starting lineup.

She has played in all 20 of the Billikens’ games this season, and they are 11-9 overall after beating Duquesne at home Monday night. That game marked her 10th start of the season and her third in a row.

“I had started early on, got injured a little bit and I think they were just going for a little different look,� Smith Traore said. “We have three posts, and we pretty much rotate throughout the game, so even when I was coming off the bench I was still playing 20-25 minutes.

“Recently I’ve gotten to play a lot more.�

She is averaging a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game to go along with 4.4 points in nearly 26 minutes per contest.

“They’re looking for me to score a little bit more,� said Smith Traore, who added she is being asked to play as more of a power forward than a center. “They want me to drive but also shoot 3s, and in high school a lot of my time was on the block. So they’ve really been working with me on my offense.

“My role has been as a rebounder and defender, and thatÃÛèÖÊÓƵ what I’ve really brought to the team and probably why I’ve started the past couple games. Coach Stone is really big on defense and rebounding.â€�

As a redshirt sophomore, Smith Traore will still have two years of college eligibility remaining after this season.

A taste of home

Smith Traore said she has not been back to Wisconsin since October—a long stretch of time away from home by her standards.

But she still sees plenty of her family and former teammates who make the drive to St. Louis. Her parents have made it to the majority of her games this season.

“My dad even got stuck in traffic on his way to Terre Haute, Indiana, (in late January),� Smith Traore said. “The game was over by the time he got there, but he still showed up and was like, ‘Sorry, I tried to get here!’�

Mostly, Smith Traore simply feels like she has found a new home away from home in a city that loves sports.

“We’ve got the Cardinals, the Blues, and itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ a big city with a lot to do,â€� she said. “And then I have incredible teammates who are like my family. ThatÃÛèÖÊÓƵ been the biggest thing here.

“In high school, I had such a great experience, and I’ve been chasing that closeness of a team. I’ve found that here.�