Adrian Smith (basketball)

Last updated

Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith Royals.jpg
Personal information
Born (1936-10-05) October 5, 1936 (age 87)
Farmington, Kentucky, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolFarmington (Farmington, Kentucky)
College
NBA draft 1958: 15th round, 85th overall pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1961–1972
Position Point guard
Number10
Career history
1959–1960USAF All-Stars
1961 Akron Goodyear Wingfoots
1961–1969 Cincinnati Royals
1969–1971 San Francisco Warriors
1971–1972 Virginia Squires
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points 8,750 (11.3 ppg)
Rebounds 1,626 (2.1 rpg)
Assists 1,739 (2.3 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1960 Rome Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1959 Chicago

Adrian Howard "Odie" Smith (born October 5, 1936) is an American former professional basketball player.

Contents

Early life

Smith was the fifth of six children of Oury and Ruth Smith of Farmington, Kentucky. The family lived in a farmhouse that had no electricity and no indoor plumbing. He was nicknamed "Odie" after a comedian on the Grand Ole Opry. [1] As a child, he attended a three-room schoolhouse in rural Graves County, Kentucky. Because the family didn't have money for a basketball, he learned to shoot one his mother made from rolling up his dad's socks.

He attended Farmington High School, where he nearly didn't play high school basketball until the school's principal and basketball coach agreed to give him a ride home, a distance of seven miles, after practices. [2] As a senior, his only scholarship offer was from nearby Murray State University, but he took too long to accept and the offer was withdrawn. [3]

College career

Smith from the 1958 Kentuckian Adrian Smith UK.jpg
Smith from the 1958 Kentuckian

Smith enrolled to play basketball at Northeast Mississippi Junior College (now known as Northeast Mississippi Community College). After Smith excelled on the court, Northeast coach Bonner Arnold convinced legendary University of Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp to send a scout to see Smith, and UK offered a scholarship. [4]

Smith didn't see much action his junior season until Kentucky's star guard, Vernon Hatton, went out with an appendectomy, and for seven games, Smith averaged 16.3 points. As a senior, Smith was a starter and averaged 12.4 points per game. The Wildcats' team, known as the "Fiddlin' Five", beat Seattle University 84–72 to win the 1957–58 national championship, led by 30 points from Hatton and 24 from Johnny Cox. [5] [6] Smith averaged just under 14 points in UK's four NCAA tourney wins, including seven in the championship game.

Smith graduated from Kentucky with a business degree. [7]

After college

He was selected in the 1958 NBA draft, but not until the 15th round (85th overall) by the Cincinnati Royals. [8]

USAF All-Stars (1959–1960)

Instead of attempting to make the Royals, Smith joined the U.S. Army, where he played on the Army's all-star team and in 1960 was selected to play on the eventual undefeated U.S. men's basketball team that won the gold medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. [9] The team went 8–0 in the Olympics, led by future hall-of-famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, and Jerry West, although in the opening win against host Italy, Smith was the team's leading scorer, with 17 points scored. [10] The team's average margin of victory in the eight games was 42.4 points per game. [11]

Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (1961)

Smith played for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots in 1961.

Professional career

Cincinnati Royals (1961–1969)

Smith began his professional career in the 1961–62 NBA season. During his first three seasons, he served as a backup guard behind Oscar Robertson and Bucky Bockhorn, [12] averaging about 20 minutes per game with scoring averages of 7.2, 8.9, and 9.4, respectively. [13]

In his fourth season of 1964–65, he became a starter in the Royals' backcourt alongside Robertson. Playing over 34 minutes per game, he averaged 15.1 points per game, with a .456 field goal percentage and .830 free throw percentage.

The 1965–66 season was both his most productive and noteworthy. He averaged a career-high 18.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game as the Royals went 45–35 and, in the Eastern Division semifinals, extended the Boston Celtics to a fifth and deciding game before falling to the eventual NBA champions. [14] On December 15 he scored a career-high 34 points against the Celtics, and followed that up on January 5 with another career-high of 35 points. During the season, Smith was selected to the 1966 NBA All-Star Game and, surprisingly for a game that including sixteen future Hall-of-Famers, Smith was named MVP after he scored 24 points in 26 minutes. [15] It was his only All-Star appearance, and for winning the MVP award, he received a new Ford Galaxie car. [16]

In his sixth NBA season, 1966–67, Smith averaged 16.6 points per game and led the NBA with a .903 free throw percentage and, for the fourth time, the durable Smith led the league in games played. [17] In 1967–68, Smith averaged 15.6 points per game in his last year as a starter. [18] In 1968–69, playing primarily as a backup to Robertson and Tom Van Arsdale, Smith averaged 9.6 ponts per game. [19]

San Francisco Warriors (1969–1971)

In the 1969–70 season, after 32 games with the Royals, Smith was traded to the San Francisco Warriors, for whom he played another 45 games, averaging 5.9 points per game for the season. [20] In 1970–71, his 10th NBA season, he played only 21 games, averaging 5.3 points per game in his final NBA season. [21]

Virginia Squires (1971–1972)

Smith played for the American Basketball Association's Virginia Squires in 1971–72, averaging 5.1 points per game. He also played 13 times for the United States.

Honors

The entire 1960 USA Olympic basketball team, including Smith, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 13, 2010. [22] Smith is also a member of the Northeast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame [23] and the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame. [24]

Post-playing career

Smith worked for many years as a commercial relationship manager for Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank, where he currently is a vice president. [25] [26] He resides in Cincinnati with his wife, Paula, and he still owns the Ford Galaxie he won from the 1966 NBA All-Star Game. [27] [ better source needed ]

NBA/ABA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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
*Led the league

Regular season

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG
1961–62 Cincinnati 8018.3.405.7751.92.17.2
1962–63 Cincinnati 7919.3.443.8112.21.88.9
1963–64 Cincinnati 6623.1.406.7822.22.29.4
1964–65 Cincinnati 8034.3.456.8302.83.015.1
1965–66 Cincinnati 8037.3.405.8503.63.218.4
1966–67 Cincinnati 8132.5.438.903*2.52.316.6
1967–68 Cincinnati 8233.9.464.8292.33.315.6
1968–69 Cincinnati 7318.3.432.8071.41.79.6
1969–70 Cincinnati 3214.2.405.8671.01.45.4
1969–70 San Francisco 4514.1.347.9091.11.96.4
1970–71 San Francisco 2111.8.427.8541.11.45.3
1971–72 Virginia (ABA) 5312.9.446.893.9.85.1
Career77224.6.430.8382.12.311.3

Playoffs

YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG
1962 Cincinnati 413.3.4211.0001.3.85.3
1963 Cincinnati 1216.7.402.7051.32.38.1
1964 Cincinnati 79.4.308.7141.3.63.0
1965 Cincinnati 437.5.375.9552.85.314.3
1966 Cincinnati 531.4.373.955*2.42.613.0
1967 Cincinnati 430.0.375.7502.02.811.3
1972 Virginia (ABA) 1127.0.465.8651.71.511.4
Career4722.2.402.8321.72.19.2

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References

  1. ↑ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . February 13, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . February 13, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Reference at www.kentucky.com".
  4. ↑ "Reference at www.kentucky.com".
  5. ↑ "1957-1958 National Champions - Walter's Wildcat World".
  6. ↑ "Reference at sportsillustrated.cnn.com". Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Reference at www.kentucky.com".
  8. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  9. ↑ "Reference at www.kentucky.com".
  10. ↑ "Game: USA vs ITALY (Group A) Date: 26 August 1960".
  11. ↑ "Reference at www.usab.com". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013.
  12. ↑ "1962-63 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  13. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  14. ↑ "1965-66 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  15. ↑ "Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . February 13, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  18. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  19. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  20. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  21. ↑ "Adrian Smith Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  22. ↑ "Reference at www.kentucky.com".
  23. ↑ "NEMCC Sports Hall of Fame - Northeast Mississippi Community College Athletics". Northeast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame
  24. ↑ "Mississippi Community College Foundation - Sports Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 5, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014. The Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame
  25. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ↑ "Reference at www.linkedin.com".
  27. ↑ "Archives - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . February 13, 2011.

Book, Cincinnati's Basketball Royalty by Gerry Schultz

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