One foul call. That’s all it took for Quincy Smith Jr. to hear complaints and frustrated looks inside a gymnasium on a snowy Monday night as St. Paul Como Park played a junior varsity game at Minneapolis North.

“You can do better, young fella,” a woman shouted in disagreement with his whistle on a particular play.

Smith, the youngest basketball referee in Minneapolis at age 17, brushed the comment off and stayed focused on his job.

What the spectator didn’t know is that Smith is already doing better than some officials twice his age.

“Things that older adults sometimes struggle with he’s knocking out of the park,” said Zach Gustafson, the Minneapolis Officials Association director of operations. “He works on his mechanics. He’s very personable. He’s always trying to get better. He watches film. You go down the list and he does everything an assigner wants an official to do.”

The junior who left Armstrong High to be home schooled last year looks young enough to be playing on the same courts he officiates, but already acts the part of a veteran.

Smith takes the profession very seriously, with goals of becoming a college basketball and NBA official one day.

“It’s been going pretty well for me,” said Smith, who gets mostly positive feedback officiating high school boys and girls basketball games every week at the JV, sophomore and freshman levels around the metro.

City rules require Smith to be at least 18 to referee varsity games, so he will need to wait until next September to move up.

The job of an referee sometimes comes with scrutiny, no matter the age or experience. But Smith loves it all. If he misses a comment from a coach or fan — good or bad — his grandmother, Bettie Smith, lets him know after the game what she heard from the crowd.

“She always just sits back and listens,” Quincy said with a chuckle.

Having raised him with her late husband, John, since he was a newborn, Smith’s grandmother won’t hesitate to tell any spectator with a smile, “That’s my son.” Her grandson is determined to do something rare, especially for his age, while also maintaining good grades. She is incredibly proud.

“I’m very happy because when you teach your children, you just never know what they’re going to do,” Bettie said. “I’m happy and proud that he has taken this [opportunity] and made it his own and to work for him.”

In 2008, when Smith was 2 months old, his father, Quincy Sr., died after going into cardiac arrest when police used a Taser while struggling to arrest him. He was 24. He didn’t learn more about his father, a former radio DJ, until he was in elementary school.

“I was pretty young,” said Smith, who doesn’t have a relationship with his mother. “But the older I got, the more I could understand.”

Smith understood staying active in sports was a good choice. But how does a kid growing up in North Minneapolis who loved playing basketball and football decide one day that he wants to referee?

“My first game officiating was at a school in Blaine when I was 14,” Smith said. “It was second graders. I didn’t want to have an average job a teenager had. I wanted to be around the sport that I liked. I had no aspirations of going higher than where I was at the time.”

The following year, in 2024, Smith was encouraged to attend a referee clinic in Minneapolis, where he met veteran officials. They were impressed with his knowledge of the game. They also recognized his passion for what they do. At 15, he was the youngest referee in the state to become a member of a referee association.

“My mentality for just playing basketball changed,” Smith said. “I wanted to be different from everybody.”

Following his grandfather’s death a little more than a year ago, Smith withdrew from Armstrong High School. He hasn’t played basketball for a team since. Officiating fills that void on the court but it also gives him purpose.

“I got some motivation from deep down that I should keep going,” Smith said.

Before he arrives at gyms to officiate, Smith spends his time studying and doing school work in his bedroom. He has been taking online classes since the middle of his sophomore year. In his closet, he has about 10 uniforms for refereeing, including the classic stripes.

Smith recently ran into familiar faces while working games at Minneapolis North, a few blocks away from where he lives with his grandmother. Some of his friends used to laugh at him in stripes, but now many of them support his drive to be a referee.

“I’m thankful for all the people who stepped up and support his journey,” Bettie said. “When there’s someone that’s negative, there have been a couple of those, I straightened them out.”

The next night, basketball games around the metro were delayed due to a snowstorm. But Smith didn’t miss his assignment with Cooper at Richfield. He enjoys the grind and life of an aspiring professional official.

Smith is the youngest among his peers, but he is not alone. Max Hanson, an 18-year-old from Blaine, was able to work his first varsity competition this winter — and he is excited for Smith hopefully to join him in games next year.

“I have met Quincy a few times,” Hanson said. “He’s a great person and official. [Refereeing] gives me valuable life skills as well. You gain communication experience having to deal with the parents and coaches, which is a good trait I learned from this.”

In a time when there are referee shortages across the country, mostly due to the stressful environment, these young officials hear more praise and support from coaches, players and parents than criticism from fans.

A role model for not only kids from the city but anywhere, Smith is an example that there are hoop dreams to pursue in different ways, including wearing stripes.

“He works hard,” Gustafson said. “He’s not in it for the buck, he’s in it for long term. He truly is trying to get better at his craft, every time out.”

. . .

Basketball Across Minnesota

Fuller’s five

Five Minnesota ballers who stood out:

Jakob Braaten, Southwest Minnesota State: The senior from Byron set a school single-game record with 17 assists in a Dec. 8 victory over North Central. He followed that with a season-high 27 points in a victory over Concordia (St. Paul). For his efforts, Braaten was named the NABC Division II national player of the week on Tuesday.

Maddyn Greenway, Providence Academy: The 5-8 senior became the state’s all-time girls leader in assists Thursday with 34 points, 10 assists and nine steals in a victory over Princeton. She surpassed Alaina Jarnot’s career total of 1,079 for Maranatha Christian Academy back in 2016.

Liv McGill, Florida: The 5-9 sophomore and former Hopkins star is second in NCAA women’s Division I in scoring with 25.8 points per game. She had back-to-back 30-point performances with 30 points vs. Virginia Tech and 32 points, eight rebounds and seven steals vs. South Alabama earlier this month.

Gavin Roderick, Alexandria: The 6-4 senior is on the verge of a breakout season after his career-high 46 points on 9-for-12 shooting from three-point range last week in the Cardinals’ 98-88 victory over Sartell on Thursday.

Cade Tyson, Gophers: The 6-7 senior and the Big Ten’s leading scorer scorched the Barn nets with a career-high 38 points and 11 rebounds Sunday, including going 8-for-12 on three-pointers in an 89-53 victory against Texas Southern.

Minnesotans in the NBA: Suggs shows toughness

Minnehaha Academy alum Jalen Suggs dominated as a two-sport high school standout in Minnesota in large part because he was usually the most athletic and toughest guy on the court or field.

Not shockingly, Suggs has battled back from injuries throughout his five NBA seasons. Most recently, he averaged 19.8 points in the month of December for the Orlando Magic, which included scoring 20 points in four of his last five games. That was after being hurt earlier this season.

Suggs had to leave last Saturday’s NBA Cup loss against New York after aggravating his left hip following a 25-point first half. On Monday, the Magic said a magnetic resonance imaging exam confirmed he suffered only a bruise.

“There’s nowhere else I would have rather been than on the court battling with my guys,” Suggs told ESPN.

College team of the week

The Minnesota State Mankato women’s basketball team improved to 11-0 this season with Saturday’s 108-60 victory against Augustana behind senior Natalie Bremer’s 25 points.

The No. 2 ranked Mavericks, the 2024 Division II national champion, had the fourth-longest active winning streak in the country at 30 games entering this week.

Minnesota Top 25 update

It couldn’t be more clear right now that Minnesota’s two best teams in boys basketball are Wayzata and Totino-Grace, which had impressive wins last week.

The No. 1 Trojans aced their first test with a 96-66 victory at Cretin-Derham Hall on Saturday in the rescheduled Breakdown Tip Off featured matchup. Gophers recruit Nolen Anderson led Wayzata with 21 points. But teammate Christian Wiggins, an Iowa State recruit, scored most of his 20 points early to make a statement.

No team has two bigger victories than Totino-Grace, who beat Maple Grove and Hopkins last week. The Eagles were led by Dothan Ijadimbola’s 27 points in a 72-64 victory over Hopkins, which was also originally part of the Breakdown Tip Off.

Final thoughts ...

Not going to lie, I might have been a bit harsh on basketball officials over the years as an enthusiastic sports parent and youth coach. The main thing for me was about protecting my kids and players. I usually lost control when I felt like opponents were getting away with being too physical or borderline dirty. Otherwise, looking back I feel bad for maybe nagging a little too much. Nobody’s perfect. There’s a tight community of experienced referees in the Twin Cities. Awesome to see Quincy Smith Jr. mentored by some quality officials to hopefully one day join their ranks.

. . .

Basketball Across Minnesota will be published weekly on stribvarsity.com. Don’t be a stranger on X after reading, as chatting about these stories makes them even more fun to share. Thanks, Marcus (@Marcus_R_Fuller on X).