Sam Smith (born January 8, 1955) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player 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 St ...

(NBA).

College career

A 6'4" tall shooting guard, Smith 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 ...

at the

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

, during the 1970s. He helped the Runnin' Rebels reach their first ever NCAA Final Four in 1977, as a member of the fabled " Hardway Eight", that was coached by

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebe ...

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

.
Taxing dilemma for NBA's 2010 free agents
. bulls.com. July 27, 2009. Retrieved on October 11, 2009.

Professional career

Smith played two seasons ( 1978– 1980) in the NBA, as a member of 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He averaged 6.8 points per game during his NBA career.Sam Smith
basketball-reference.com Retrieved on October 12, 2009. Smith completed the first

four-point play In basketball, a four-point play is the rare occasion when an offensive player shoots and makes a three-point field goal while simultaneously being fouled by a defensive player, resulting in a shooting foul and one free throw attempt, or a two-po ...

in the NBA's history, on October 21, 1979.

Personal life

Smith was born in Ferriday, Louisiana. He is now living in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, and working as an AAU basketball trainer and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at the Bill and Lilly Heinrich YMCA. Where he worked with his fellow UNLV legend and teammate, Robert Smith.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Sam 1955 births Living people 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Basketball players from Louisiana Chicago Bulls players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Milwaukee Bucks players People from Ferriday, Louisiana Seminole State College of Florida alumni Shooting guards UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople