Mike Smith (basketball, born 1997)

Mike Smith
Smith at Michigan in 2020
No. 21 – Rostock Seawolves
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Personal information
Born (1997-10-13) October 13, 1997 (age 27)
Burr Ridge, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolFenwick
(Oak Park, Illinois)
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Sioux Falls Skyforce
2022Wellington Saints
2022–2023Astoria Bydgoszcz
2024Rostock Seawolves
Career highlights and awards

Michael Smith (born October 13, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Rostock Seawolves of the Basketball Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the Columbia Lions and the Michigan Wolverines. He was the 2019–20 Ivy League scoring champion and holds the Big Ten men's basketball tournament single-game assists record (15). He has also led both the Ivy League (2017–18) and the Big Ten (2020–21) in assists per game.

Early life

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As an eighth-grader in 2012, Smith led Burr Ridge Middle School in Burr Ridge, Illinois to an Illinois Elementary School Association state championship.[1] He was a four-year varsity basketball starter at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois.[2] On January 18, 2016, as a senior, Smith scored a career-high 38 points in a 71–68 win over Simeon Career Academy.[3] Five days later, he scored 34 points against Riverside Brookfield High School.[4] He led Fenwick to the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) championship, scoring a game-high 27 points against St. Joseph High School in the final.[5] In his senior season, Smith averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, helping his team to the Class 3A sectional final and a school-record 28 wins. He finished second in Illinois Mr. Basketball voting to Charlie Moore and left Fenwick with 1,800 career points, the second-most in school history behind Corey Maggette.[6] He was named Pioneer Press All-Area player of the year and CCL player of the year.[7] On March 26, Smith committed to play college basketball for Columbia over Dartmouth.[4] He held offers from many other mid-major programs and was not rated by major recruiting services.[8] Smith reopened his recruitment upon the departure of Columbia head coach Kyle Smith but was drawn back to program after a three-hour phone call with its new coach Jim Engles.[2]

College career

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Columbia

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Smith at Columbia in 2020

On November 11, 2016, Smith made his collegiate debut for Columbia, scoring 14 points in a 73–66 win over Stony Brook.[9] He scored a freshman season-high 24 points in a 67–62 loss to Cornell on January 21, 2017. As a freshman, Smith averaged 13.6 points and 3.4 assists per game, starting in all 27 games, and set the program's single-season first-year scoring record with 368 points.[10]

On December 10, he scored a sophomore season-high 28 points in a 73–68 loss to Navy.[11] He finished the season averaging 17.6 points, which led his team and ranked second in the Ivy League, and a conference-high 4.6 assists per game. Smith collected second-team All-Ivy League and third-team All-Metropolitan honors.[12][13]

On November 16, 2018, his second game as a junior, he scored a then career-high 31 points in a 94–83 loss to Youngstown State.[14] On December 2, Smith matched his career-high in scoring with 31 points and 5 steals in an 87–86 double overtime loss to Delaware.[15] On December 12, it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus suffered five days earlier against Bryant.[16] In eight games, Smith averaged 15.8 points and 5 assists per game.[10]

Smith returned to action in his senior season debut on November 5, 2019, scoring 22 points in a 65–63 loss to Lafayette.[17] On February 15, 2020, he scored a career-high 38 points in a 77–73 double overtime loss to Harvard. It was the most points by a Columbia player in a single game since Buck Jenkins scored a school-record 47 points in 1991.[18] One week later, Smith scored 37 points in an 83–65 loss to Yale.[19] As a senior, he averaged a conference-leading 22.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while being named to the second team All-Ivy League. In his senior season, Smith scored 684 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history, and averaged the most points for an Ivy League player since 1989.[20]

Michigan

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On April 10, 2020, Smith announced that he would graduate and transfer to Michigan for his final season. He was attracted to the program because of head coach Juwan Howard.[21] Smith was ranked the 11th best graduate transfer according to ESPN and chose the Wolverines over offers from Gonzaga, Arizona and Seton Hall.[22] In his debut for Michigan on November 25, Smith scored 16 points and had eight assists in a 96–82 win against Bowling Green.[23] On March 7, 2021, Smith scored 11 points and seven assists in a 64–70 loss to Michigan State. With his seven assists he surpassed 500 career assists.[24][25] On March 12, Michigan opened its 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament play with a 79–66 victory over Maryland in the quarterfinals. Michigan was led by Smith with 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament record with 15 assists.[26] He averaged 9 points and 5.3 assists per game, helping lead the team to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. On April 7, 2021, Smith declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing the additional season of eligibility the NCAA granted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.[27] His 5.3 assists per game also led the Big Ten conference.[28]

Professional career

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Smith in 2022 with Astoria Bydgoszcz

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2022)

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After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Smith joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[29] He was selected with the 13th pick of the second round of the 2021 NBA G League draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.[30] In 42 games during the 2021–22 NBA G League season, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.[31]

Wellington Saints (2022)

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On May 3, 2022, Smith signed with the Wellington Saints for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.[31][32]

Astoria Bydgoszcz (2022–2023)

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On August 4, 2022, he has signed with Astoria Bydgoszcz of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[33]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Columbia 27 27 31.4 .401 .382 .821 2.1 3.5 1.1 .0 13.6
2017–18 Columbia 27 26 34.0 .390 .308 .842 2.6 4.6 1.1 .0 17.6
2018–19 Columbia 8 7 31.8 .415 .250 .853 2.5 5.0 2.3 .0 15.8
2019–20 Columbia 30 30 37.7 .431 .339 .813 4.1 4.5 1.5 .0 22.8
2020–21 Michigan 28 28 31.6 .412 .418 .793 2.8 5.3 .5 .0 9.0
Career 120 118 33.7 .411 .343 .824 2.9 4.5 1.1 .0 15.9

Personal life

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Smith was a fan of the Chicago Bulls while growing up. He became close friends with NBA player Jimmy Butler after meeting him at his high school team's Jordan Brand apparel unveiling presentation in 2016.[34] He has trained with and lived with Butler in the offseason and has been mentored by him. Smith is a friend of the popular basketball YouTuber KOT4Q.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Wilcox, George M. (February 1, 2016). "Nick Rakocevic, Mike Smith build on eighth-grade basketball success". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Everson, Jered (March 2, 2017). "In first year, Mike Smith is light-years ahead". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Helfgot, Mike (January 18, 2016). "Mike Smith leads No. 4 Fenwick past No. 3 Simeon 71-68". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Narang, Bob (March 26, 2016). "Fenwick's Mike Smith commits to Columbia". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  5. ^ Recchia, Lauren (February 23, 2016). "Fenwick shreds St. Joseph to win CCL title". Riverside-Brookfield Landmark. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Van Dril, Eric (March 31, 2016). "Boys basketball player of the year: Mike Smith". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Phillips, Scott (March 22, 2016). "Fenwick's Mike Smith commits to Columbia". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Helfgot, Mike (August 6, 2015). "Fenwick's Mike Smith standing tall". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  9. ^ Horn, Austin (November 12, 2016). "Men's basketball tops Stony Brook in season opener". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Mike Smith". Columbia University Athletics. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  11. ^ Brett, Alexander; McDonough, Ally (December 10, 2017). "Men's basketball falls to Navy at home, 73-68". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "Mike Smith Earns Second Team All-Ivy League Status". Columbia University Athletics. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Mike Smith Adds Third Team All-Met To Resume". Columbia University Athletics. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  14. ^ "Lions Iced By Penguins, 94-83". Columbia University Athletics. November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Miller, Zachary (December 3, 2018). "Men's basketball loses double overtime thriller 87-86 to Delaware". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Browne, Rob (December 14, 2018). "Columbia's Mike Smith out for season with torn meniscus". Ivy Hoops Online. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Lafayette Holds Off Lions, 65-63, in Season Debut". Columbia University Athletics. November 5, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  18. ^ "Smith's Career Night Not Enough as Harvard Outlasts Lions, 77-73, in Double OT". Columbia University Athletics. February 15, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "Yale Sinks Columbia, 83-65". Columbia University Athletics. February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  20. ^ "Mike Smith Named Second Team All-Ivy League". Columbia University Athletics. March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  21. ^ Hawkins, James (April 10, 2020). "Michigan lands Columbia grad transfer Mike Smith, nation's No. 6 scorer". The Detroit News. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  22. ^ Borzello, Jeff (April 10, 2020). "No. 11-ranked graduate transfer Mike Smith chooses Michigan". ESPN. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  23. ^ "No. 25 Michigan handles Bowling Green, 96-82". The Telegram. November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  24. ^ "Michigan State beats No. 2 Michigan 70-64, boosts NCAA hopes". ESPN. Associated Press. March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  25. ^ Wywrot, Tom (March 7, 2021). "Smith Reaches 500 Career Assists as Michigan Falls to MSU". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  26. ^ Wywrot, Tom (March 12, 2021). "Smith, Bench Help Michigan Overcome Slow Start Against Maryland". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  27. ^ Sang, Orion (April 7, 2021). "Michigan basketball's Mike Smith passes on extra year in college, declares for NBA draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "Mike Smith". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  29. ^ Zuke, Ryan (July 30, 2021). "Michigan's Mike Smith, Chaundee Brown find NBA homes as undrafted free agents". MLive.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  30. ^ "2021 NBA G League Draft Board". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  31. ^ a b "Mike Smith is a newcomer at Saints". australiabasket.com. May 2, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "We are fortunate to announce the arrival of exciting and electric guard Mike Smith..." facebook.com/WellingtonSaintsBasketball. May 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  33. ^ "Nowy gracz Enea Astorii. Tak gra Mike Smith". metropoliabydgoska.pl (in Polish). August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  34. ^ Henricksen, Joe (April 10, 2020). "Friendship with Jimmy Butler helps push Fenwick grad Mike Smith to Michigan". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  35. ^ "Mike Smith Confident After Star-Studded Summer". Columbia University Athletics. October 23, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
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