Say what you will about Katie Smith.

Smith, a sophomore forward on the Ohio State women's basketball team, is the type of player about whom a lot of things are said. She's cocky. She's a ball hog. She's overrated.

She's one hell of a basketball player.

Throughout the course of the Buckeyes' 96-74 loss to Penn State Friday night in Rec Hall, Smith proved all of these true.

She's cocky. You bet. From the time she takes the court for warmups, the strut gives her away. But is cocky so bad when it's backed up 100 percent? Some players talk the game but can't back it up. Their mouths write checks their game can't cash.

Not Smith. The Big Ten's second-leading scorer doesn't have to talk. Her walk, her presence, tell you how good she knows she is. And if you don't buy it, her play shoves it down your throat.

Of course, she'll talk it when she can.

"The crowd was really getting after you tonight," I said after the game. "Does that affect your game at all?"

"I had 29 points," Smith replied. "I don't think so."

She's a ball hog. Has to be. The graduating class of '93 robbed Ohio State of its depth and experience, leaving Smith the responsibility of carrying the Buckeyes. On Friday, she took 15 shots from the field and made 13 trips to the line. Twenty-nine points, all told. OSU's other four starters combined for 33.

She's overrated. Maybe. After all, she was a first-team All-American as a freshman, but only a second-team Big Ten selection. Maybe she's not as good as the hype would have you believe.

Interesting, though. Calling an athlete overrated is a little like calling a child spoiled. Kids don't spoil themselves; their parents spoil them. Athletes, with few exceptions, don't build themselves up as superstars; the media build them up, then shoot them down like ducks in a carnival game.

She's one hell of a basketball player. Without a doubt. On Friday, Smith was hampered by foul trouble and managed only four points in the first half. She scored 25 in the second. Point made.

When I walked into Rec Hall Friday night, I had my thoughts about Katie Smith. But I left with one more. Smith's competitiveness may make her arrogant, and it sure doesn't make her charming. She's the proverbial player you love to hate. But she's honest. For real.

"No matter what you do, they're still gonna taunt you," Smith says of her detractors. "It can get you going, but then again it can get you frustrated. It's just that they don't know you . . . people don't understand. They're not out there."

I think I understand now. You don't have to like her, and you can say what you will. Just make sure it's true. She deserves that.