Andre Jermaine Smith (born February 21, 1985) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for ND State College of Science and

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

before playing nine seasons of professional basketball in Europe and Asia between 2007 and 2016.

High school career

Smith attended

Como Park Senior High School Como Park Senior High School (CPSHS or commonly known as CPHS) is a public high school located in the Lake Como area of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving grades nine through twelve. Along with nine other public high schools, Como Park ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, where he was named first-team all-conference and second team all-state while averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds in 2002–03.

College career

As a freshman at ND State College of Science in 2003–04, Smith averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game. As a sophomore in 2004–05, Smith helped the Wildcats to a 28–7 record and averaged 13.6 points, a team-high 9.7 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. In 2005, Smith transferred to

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

. As a junior with the

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

in 2005–06, Smith started in all 27 games he played and averaged 13.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. As a senior in 2006–07, Smith started in all 28 games he played and averaged 17.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.

Professional career

Smith began his professional career with Hérens Basket in Switzerland, averaging 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in eight games to begin the 2007–08 season. In December 2007, he joined Japanese team

Niigata Albirex Niigata Albirex BB, formally Niigata Albirex Basketball, is a Japanese basketball club. It is based in Nagaoka, Niigata. Outline The club was founded in 1954 as the company team of Daiwa Securities, a Tokyo-based securities brokerage. In 19 ...

. On February 22, 2008, he had 18 points and 16 rebounds and hit the game-winning basket to lift the team to a 90–89 win over

Rizing Fukuoka The Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka are a Japanese basketball team, playing in the second division of the B.League. They are based in Fukuoka Prefecture and were coached by Joe Bryant, the father of Kobe Bryant, in 2015. Roster Notable p ...

. In August 2008, Smith joined the

Everton Tigers The Mersey Tigers were a professional basketball team based in the city of Liverpool, England. The club was established in 2007 as a start-up franchise of the British Basketball League, the country's elite competition. The Tigers started compe ...

of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Great Britain and represents the highest level of play in the countries. The league is contested by 10 teams from England and Scotland. There are no clubs howeve ...

for the 2008–09 season. In January 2009, he helped the Tigers defeat the

Plymouth Raiders The Plymouth Raiders was a professional basketball team based in Plymouth, England. The team competed in the British Basketball League, the country's premier basketball competition. The club was founded in 1983 through a merger between two lo ...

103–49 in the

BBL Cup The British Basketball League Cup, often shortened to the BBL Cup, is an annual cup competition for British basketball teams organised by the United Kingdom's top professional league, the British Basketball League. It is one of two peripheral c ...

final. He was named Most Valuable Player of the final after recording 26 points and 10 rebounds. In 32 games, he averaged 26.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He finished runner-up league MVP and earned BBL Team of the Year honors. For the 2009–10 season, Smith joined Turkish team

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Pınar" means "Spring" (of water), and/or "Fountain". Notable people called Pınar include: Given name * Pinar Heggernes (born 1969), Turkish-born Norwegian computer scientist * Pına ...

. In 32 games, he averaged 15.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He returned to Pınar Karşıyaka for the 2010–11 season and averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 steals in 22 league games. He also averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals in 12

EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

games. He was named runner-up for all-star power forward for the

2010–11 FIBA EuroChallenge 2010–11 FIBA EuroChallenge was the eighth edition of Europe's third-tier level transnational men's professional club basketball FIBA EuroChallenge Tournament, organized by FIBA Europe. The Final Four was awarded to Oostende and was held from A ...

. For the 2011–12 season, Smith joined Italian team Otto Caserta. He was the Italian League scoring champion with a league-leading 18.4 points per game. For the 2012–13 season, Smith joined Russian team Krasnye Krylia. He helped the team win the 2012–13 FIBA EuroChallenge. For the 2013–14 season, Smith joined Italian team

Umana Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

. In 29 games, he averaged 17.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. For the 2014–15 season, Smith joined Turkish team

Tofaş Tofaş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, who was the founder of Koç Ho ...

. He left the team in January 2015 after averaging 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 13 league games. Smith started the 2015–16 season with

Incheon Electroland Elephants The Daegu KOGAS Pegasus (in Korean: 대구 한국가스공사 페가수스) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Established in 1994, the team plays in the KBL since its existence. Since 2021, the club is base ...

in South Korea, averaging 17.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 10 games between September 12 and October 10. In March 2016, he joined Byblos Club in Lebanon and averaged 16.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 10 games. On December 3, 2016, Smith announced his retirement.

Personal life

Smith is the son of Ervin and Michelle Smith and has two brothers, Jason and Nick, and two sisters, Sandra and Ashley. As of 2012, Smith was married.

References

External links