Donald Smith (October 10, 1951 – March 9, 2004) 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.Don Smith
basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on February 1, 2013. Smith grew up in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

and was a star basketball player at Roth High School in Dayton. He attended the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. In 1971–72 as a 6'0" guard, the sophomore had an immediate impact on the team, averaging 20.2 points per game with a .442 field goal percentage and an .861 free throw percentage. As a junior, Smith averaged 23.4 points per game (tied for second in UD history) with a .451 field goal percentage and a then-UD record (currently second) .910 free throw percentage (111-for-122). He still holds the Flyers' single-game scoring record; he scored 52 points his junior season against

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1929, closed in 1994 and was demolished in 1995. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. ...

, and he also had a 44-point game that season against

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

in which he was 20-for-25 from the field. As a senior in 1973–74, Smith averaged 18.0 points per game but with a career-best .469 field goal percentage and an .888 free throw percentage as the Flyers, after consecutive 13-13 seasons, went 20-9 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. There, Smith scored 36 points in a memorable triple-overtime, 111-100 loss to the

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

-led

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

. Smith ended his UD career with the career free throw percentage record of .886. Smith was selected in the second round (19th overall) of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...

by 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 ...

. He played for the 76ers for just the 1974–75 season. He played in 54 games, averaging exactly 10 minutes per game, and averaged 5.2 points. His career-high scoring game came on March 8, 1975 with 19 points against 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 ...

. And remaining true to his college free throw shooting form, he made every one of his 21 free throw attempts. In 1980, he was inducted into the University of Dayton Hall of Fame. Smith had been on dialysis for two years and was on

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

's waiting list for a kidney donor when, after being hospitalized for two weeks with heart problems, he died on March 9, 2004 at age 52. Smith had been seriously injured in an automobile accident several months earlier, and that may have contributed to his death. His wife, Katrina, who was also injured in the accident, survived him.HighBeam
/ref> In 2004, Smith was named to the University of Dayton's All-Century Team.

References

External links

Don Smith
@ TheDraftReview {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Don 1951 births 2004 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Kentucky Colonels draft picks Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards