Jerry Smith (born October 7, 1941) is an American former

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 was the 12th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the

1963 NBA draft The 1963 NBA draft was the 17th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30 and May 7, 1963, before the 1963–64 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basket ...

. Smith came from Corbin, Kentucky to

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became ...

, where he averaged 23.2 points per game for his career.

College career

Coming from Corbin High School, which had also produced

Frank Selvy Franklin Delano Selvy (born November 9, 1932) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player who is best known for holding the record for the most points (100) in a Division I college basketball game. Born in Corbin, Kentucky ...

, Smith was heavily recruited, but decided to follow in Selvy's footsteps and attend Furman. Smith became a three-time All- Southern Conference player for

and was a prolific scorer. He averaged 22.4 points in 1960–1961, 27.0 in 1961–1962 and 20.3 in 1962–1963. Smith led the Southern Conference in scoring with in 1962 and earned All-America Second Team honors that year. Smith remains Furman's all–time leader in career free throw percentage at 82.2%, and ranks fifth in program history with 1,885 career points, averaging 23.2 points per game for his career under coach Lyles Alley.

Professional career

On April 30, 1963 the Detroit Pistons selected Smith in Round 2 with Pick 4 (#12 overall) in the 1963 NBA Draft. Smith agreed to contract terms with the Pistons on July 9, 1963. The Pistons ultimately kept first round pick

Eddie Miles Edward Miles, Jr. (born July 5, 1940) is a retired American basketball player. A 6'4" guard born in North Little Rock, Arkansas and a graduate of Scipio A. Jones High School, Miles was nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Arm" because of his shoo ...

instead, (Miles was the only rookie kept on the team) with Smith being cut from the roster on October 15, 1963.

Honors

* Smith was inducted into the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 * Smith had his No. 50 retired by Furman in 2010 and joined Frank Selvy (28),

Clyde Mayes Clyde Clauthen Mayes Jr. (born March 17, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player. He played in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Europe for various teams. His international career took him to Italy, Franc ...

(34),

Darrell Floyd Darrell Floyd (May 11, 1932 – March 7, 2000) was an American college basketball All-American while playing for Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina from 1953–56. He was a two-time national scoring champion, two-time Consensus NC ...

(33), Jonathan Moore (25) and

Nield Gordon Nield Philip Gordon (November 17, 1930 – May 2, 2022) was an American college basketball coach, administrator and player. He served as the athletic director and men's basketball head coach of the Winthrop Eagles where he was influential in the d ...

(27) as the only players to have their number retired.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jerry 1941 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Detroit Pistons draft picks Furman Paladins men's basketball players Guards (basketball) People from Corbin, Kentucky