sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Alan Richard Smith (born January 15, 1947) is a retired basketball player who played for five seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA). A point guard during his career, he played for the Denver Rockets and Utah Stars and once led the ABA in assists in a season.

Al Smith

Smith at Bradley during the 1967–68 season
Personal information
Born	(1947-01-15) January 15, 1947 (age 75) Peoria, Illinois
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	Manual (Peoria, Illinois)
College	Bradley (1966–1968, 1970–1971)
NBA draft	1971 / Round: 11 / Pick: 180th overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	1971–1976
Position	Point guard
Number	10, 20
Career history
1971–1974	Denver Rockets
1974–1975	Utah Stars
1978-1979	Tucson Gunners
Career highlights and awards
ABA assists leader (1974) 2× First-team All-MVC (1968, 1971)
Career ABA statistics
Points	3,298 (9.8 ppg)
Assists	1,793 (5.3 apg)
Rebounds	865 (2.6 rpg)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Smith was born in Peoria, Illinois. He also attended Manual High School in Peoria.[1] Smith played basketball, football, and baseball at Manual, earning All-State honors in all three sports.[2] His baseball skill was such that the Chicago White Sox drafted him in the 7th round of the inaugural Major League Baseball draft in 1965.[3] Instead of signing with the White Sox, he opted to attend college.

He was given offers to attend USC and Notre Dame,[4] but he chose to attend Bradley University as a basketball and baseball player. Smith spent four years at Bradley, though his time in college was interrupted by a two-year stint in the United States Army.[5] As a college basketball player, he scored over 1,000 points for Bradley and was named first team All-Missouri Valley Conference in 1971 during his senior season.[5] His college success was honored in 2004 when he was selected to Bradley's All-Century team.[4]

Denver Rockets

In 1971, Smith was drafted by the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls in the 11th round of the NBA Draft;[6] previously, he was also drafted by the Bulls in the 10th round of the 1969 draft. He was also a 4th round draft pick of the American Basketball Association's Denver Rockets (now the NBA's Nuggets) in a separate draft.[7] Smith chose to sign with the Rockets, and he would go on to play for the club for three seasons.[1] In his first season, he served as the backup to point guard Larry Brown[8] while averaging nine points and three assists per game.[1]

Smith became the Rockets' regular point guard during the 1972–1973 season after Brown took a job as head coach. He scored a career-best eleven-plus points per game in his second season, while averaging five-and-a-half assists per game.[1] His scoring decreased slightly in the 1973–1974 season but he went on to average eight assists per game, and would lead the ABA in assists.[9]

Utah Stars

Before the 1974–1975 season, Smith was traded to the Utah Stars in exchange for a draft pick and cash.[10] In his first season with the Stars, he averaged a career-low eight points per game, while also averaging four-and-a-half assists per contest.[1]

His second season with the Stars lasted only fifteen games before the Stars folded in December.[11] A persistent knee injury eventually ended his career after five seasons.[5] He retired having scored over 3,200 points and having dished out over 1,700 assists.[1]

Tucson Gunners

For the Western Basketball Association, Smith played for the Tucson Gunners in its first and only season from 1978 to 1979.[12]

Post-basketball life

Smith went on to become a social worker in Denver, also working at a cable television supply company. For a year-and-a-half, he served as an assistant head coach at Manual High School, helping lead the school to two state championships. As of 2007, Smith was working in Paterson, New Jersey, as a school counselor.[5]

References

На других языках

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- [en] Al Smith (basketball)

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[ru] Смит, Эл (баскетболист)

Алан Ричард «Эл» Смит (англ. Alan Richard "Al" Smith; род. 15 января 1947 года в Пеории, штат Иллинойс, США) — американский профессиональный баскетболист, выступавший в Американской баскетбольной ассоциации, отыграв пять неполных из девяти сезонов её существования.

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