Derek Ervin Smith (November 1, 1961 – August 9, 1996) was an American 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 won a national championship with the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

in 1980, and spent nine years in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) in a career shortened by a knee injury. He would later become an assistant coach for the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

from 1994 until his death.

Career

Smith attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

from 1979 to 1982. He was a member of the 1980 University of Louisville Cardinals basketball team which won the

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, defeating UCLA 59–54. Smith is sometimes credited with popularizing the term "

high five High five is a friendly gesture in which one individual slaps another's hand. High five (and variants such as Hi5, Hi-5, and Hi-Five) may also refer to: Music * Hi-5 (Australian group), an Australian children's musical group * Hi-5 (Greek band), ...

" during the 1979–80 basketball season. Smith was selected 35th overall, 13th in the second round, by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

in the 1982 NBA draft. After his rookie season, he was waived by the Warriors and became a free agent. At the request of

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

general manager

Stu Inman Stuart Kirk Inman (August 2, 1926 – January 30, 2007) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA Draft from San Jose State University by the Chicago Stags; however, he did not pla ...

, Smith received a try out with the

San Diego Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. After impressing Clippers head coach

Jim Lynam James Francis Lynam (born September 15, 1941) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's Unive ...

, Smith was offered a contract for the 1983–84 season. He would play for the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers from 1983 to 1986. He averaged 22 points per game in 1984–85. In the next season, he averaged 23.5 points per game, but he was limited to 11 games because of a knee injury followed by

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adult ...

. He played for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

from 1986 to 1989, for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in 1989 and 1990, and for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in 1991. Despite only playing in 2 regular season games for the Celtics, he is still remembered by Boston fans for his heroic game 5 performance against the Pacers in the first round of the 1991 playoffs. In this decisive game, Smith came off the bench to score 12 key points and provide rugged defense against Chuck Person. During his NBA career, he scored over 5,000 points. Smith became an assistant coach for the

in 1994.

Death

In August 1996, Smith went on a cruise on the

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), also known in short as Norwegian, is an American cruise line founded in 1966, incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami. It is the fourth-largest cruise line in the world by passengers, controlling about 8.6 ...

ship MS ''Dreamward'' for season ticketholders of the Bullets and the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. He took his family along. Smith and then-Bullets player

Tim Legler Timothy Eugene Legler (born December 26, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst and co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Co ...

volunteered to hold basketball clinics during the cruise. On August 9, 1996, while the ship was near

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

and returning to New York City, Smith suddenly suffered an apparent massive heart attack during a farewell cocktail party in the presence of members of his team. Ship medics attempted to resuscitate him for 25 minutes before declaring him dead. Smith was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. His funeral was attended by the Bullets team and several former teammates.

Family

Derek was married to Monica, with whom he had two children: a daughter, Sydney, and a son, Nolan. Nolan played college basketball for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

and was drafted by the

. In 2010, like his father 30 years before him, Nolan made it to the NCAA D-I tournament; Nolan and his Duke Blue Devils won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

, just as Derek and his Louisville Cardinals had done in 1980. Nolan has a tattoo of his father on his right arm. In April 2022, Nolan joined the coaching staff at his father's alma mater.

References

External links

NBA & College stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Derek 1961 births 1996 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Boston Celtics players Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Los Angeles Clippers players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players People from Hogansville, Georgia Philadelphia 76ers players Sacramento Kings players San Diego Clippers players Shooting guards Washington Bullets assistant coaches

Career

Death

Family

See also

References

External links