Michael Smith (born October 13, 1997) is 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 for

Astoria Bydgoszcz Astoria Bydgoszcz, also known as simply Astoria, is a Polish multi-sports club most known for the professional men's basketball team, based in Bydgoszcz. Playing in the Polish Basketball League and in the past in the FIBA Korać Cup. History In ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish league pyramid. The winning team of the final round are crow ...

(PLK). 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 the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. Ivy League athletics Th ...

and the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

. He was the 2019–20 Ivy League scoring champion and holds the

Big Ten men's basketball tournament The Big Ten men's basketball tournament is held annually at the end of the men's college basketball regular season. The tournament has been played each year since 1998. The winner of the tournament is designated the Big Ten Tournament Champion, an ...

single-game assists record (15).

Early life and high school career

As an eighth-grader in 2012, Smith led Burr Ridge Middle School in

Burr Ridge, Illinois Burr Ridge (formerly Harvester) is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is among the wealthiest towns in Illinois and is locally known for its large, elegant mansions and luxury lifestyles. ...

to an

Illinois Elementary School Association Illinois Elementary School Association is a statewide athletics and activities association serving elementary and middle schools in the U.S. state of Illinois. At the end of the 1920s, a handful of principals and coaches at several central Illi ...

state championship. He was a four-year varsity basketball starter at Fenwick High School in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...

. On January 18, 2016, as a senior, Smith scored a career-high 38 points in a 71–68 win over

Simeon Career Academy Neal F. Simeon Career Academy (formerly known as Westcott Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, Neal F. Simeon Career Technical Academy), locally known simply as Simeon, is a public four-year vocational high school locat ...

. Five days later, he scored 34 points against

Riverside Brookfield High School Riverside Brookfield High School (RBHS) is a secondary school located directly between Riverside, Illinois, and Brookfield, Illinois, which educates grades 9-12. It serves the towns of Riverside, North Riverside, Broadview, and parts of LaGran ...

. He led Fenwick to the

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some o ...

(CCL) championship, scoring a game-high 27 points against St. Joseph High School in the final. In his senior season, Smith averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, helping his team to the Class 3A sectional final and a school-record 28 wins. He finished second in

Illinois Mr. Basketball The Illinois Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Illinois. Most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and many have ...

voting to Charlie Moore and left Fenwick with 1,800 career points, the second-most in school history behind

Corey Maggette Corey Antoine Maggette (; born November 12, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He became an analyst for Fox Sports. High school and college career Magget ...

. He was named

Pioneer Press The Pioneer Press publishes 32 local newspapers in the Chicago area. It is a division of Tribune Publishing, and is based in Chicago. The community newspapers are the main source of local news in Illinois communities such as Winnetka, Highland ...

All-Area player of the year and CCL player of the year. On March 26, Smith committed to play

for Columbia over Dartmouth. He held offers from many other

mid-major Mid-major is a term used in American NCAA Division I college sports, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the "Power Five conferences" (the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC), which are alternativ ...

programs and was not rated by major recruiting services. Smith reopened his recruitment upon the departure of Columbia head coach Kyle Smith but was drawn back to program after a three-hour phone call with its new coach

Jim Engles Jim Engles (born August 18, 1968) is an American college basketball coach and current coach of the Columbia Lions men's basketball team. He is the former head men's basketball coach at the New Jersey Institute of Technology {{Infobox university ...

College career

Columbia

On November 11, 2016, Smith made his collegiate debut for Columbia, scoring 14 points in a 73–66 win over Stony Brook. He scored a freshman season-high 24 points in a 67–62 loss to

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

on January 21, 2017. As a freshman, Smith averaged 13.6 points and 3.4 assists per game, starting in all 27 games, and set the program's single-season first-year scoring record with 368 points. On December 10, he scored a sophomore season-high 28 points in a 73–68 loss to

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. He finished the season averaging 17.6 points, which led his team and ranked second in the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

, and a conference-high 4.6 assists per game. Smith collected second-team All-Ivy League and third-team All-Metropolitan honors. On November 16, 2018, his second game as a junior, he scored a then career-high 31 points in a 94–83 loss to

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

. On December 2, Smith matched his career-high in scoring with 31 points and 5 steals in an 87–86 double

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

loss to

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. On December 12, it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the season with a

torn meniscus A tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of ...

suffered five days earlier against Bryant. In eight games, Smith averaged 15.8 points and 5 assists per game. Smith returned to action in his senior season debut on November 5, 2019, scoring 22 points in a 65–63 loss to

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. On February 15, 2020, he scored a career-high 38 points in a 77–73 double overtime loss to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. It was the most points by a Columbia player in a single game since Buck Jenkins scored a school-record 47 points in 1991. One week later, Smith scored 37 points in an 83–65 loss to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. As a senior, he averaged a conference-leading 22.8 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while being named to the second team All-Ivy League. In his senior season, Smith scored 684 points, the second-highest single-season total in program history, and averaged the most points for an Ivy League player since 1989.

Michigan

On April 10, 2020, Smith announced that he would graduate and transfer to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

for his final season. He was attracted to the program because of head coach

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...

. Smith was ranked the 11th best graduate transfer according to ESPN and chose the Wolverines over offers from Gonzaga,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

. In his debut for Michigan on November 25, Smith scored 16 points and had eight assists in a 96–82 win against

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. On March 7, 2021, Smith scored 11 points and seven assists in a 64–70 loss to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. With his seven assists he surpassed 500 career assists. On March 12, Michigan opened its

2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament The 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big Ten Conference of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which took place March 10–14, 2021. The tournament was originally to ...

play with a 79–66 victory over

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the quarterfinals. Michigan was led by Smith with 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament record with 15 assists. He averaged 9 points and 5.3 assists per game, helping lead the team to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. On April 7, 2021, Smith declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA us ...

, forgoing the additional season of eligibility the NCAA granted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional career

Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the

, Smith joined the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

for the 2021 NBA Summer League. He was selected with the 13th pick of the second round of the 2021 NBA G League draft by the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

. In 42 games during the

2021–22 NBA G League season The 2021–22 NBA G League season is the 21st season of the NBA G League, the official minor league basketball organization owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The prior season, the league played a shortened season with 18 teams ...

, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.

Wellington Saints (2022)

On May 3, 2022, Smith signed with the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.

Astoria Bydgoszcz (2022–present)

On August 4, 2022, he has signed with

of the

(PLK).

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Columbia , 27 , , 27 , , 31.4 , , .401 , , .382 , , .821 , , 2.1 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", Columbia , 27 , , 26 , , 34.0 , , .390 , , .308 , , .842 , , 2.6 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Columbia , 8 , , 7 , , 31.8 , , .415 , , .250 , , .853 , , 2.5 , , 5.0 , , 2.3 , , .0 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Columbia , 30 , , 30 , , 37.7 , , .431 , , .339 , , .813 , , 4.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 22.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 28 , , 31.6 , , .412 , , .418 , , .793 , , 2.8 , , 5.3 , , .5 , , .0 , , 9.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 120 , , 118 , , 33.7 , , .411 , , .343 , , .824 , , 2.9 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 15.9

Personal life

Smith was a fan of the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

while growing up. He became close friends with NBA player

Jimmy Butler Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA Team honore ...

after meeting him at his high school team's

Jordan Brand Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 and ...

apparel unveiling presentation in 2016. He has trained with and lived with Butler in the offseason and has been mentored by him. Smith is a friend of the popular basketball youtuber KOT4Q.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bioColumbia Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mike 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American men's basketball players Astoria Bydgoszcz players Basketball players from Illinois Columbia Lions men's basketball players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players People from Burr Ridge, Illinois Point guards Sioux Falls Skyforce players Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois Wellington Saints players