Jerry Smith (basketball, born 1941)

Jerry Smith (born October 7, 1941) is an American former basketball player. He was the 12th overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 1963 NBA draft. Smith came from Corbin, Kentucky to Furman University, where he averaged 23.2 points per game for his career.

Jerry Smith
Personal information
Born (1941-10-07) October 7, 1941
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolCorbin (Corbin, Kentucky)
CollegeFurman (1960–1963)
NBA draft1963 / Round: 2 / Pick: 12th overall
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
PositionGuard
Number50
Career highlights and awards

College career

Coming from Corbin High School, which had also produced Frank Selvy, Smith was heavily recruited, but decided to follow in Selvy's footsteps and attend Furman.[1]

Smith became a three-time All-Southern Conference player for Furman University 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 for his career under coach Lyles Alley.[2]

Professional career

On April 30, 1963 the Detroit Pistons selected Smith in Round 2 with Pick 4 (#12 overall) in the 1963 NBA Draft.[3][4] Smith agreed to contract terms with the Pistons on July 9, 1963. The Pistons ultimately kept first round pick Eddie Miles instead, (Miles was the only rookie kept on the team) with Smith being cut from the roster on October 15, 1963.[5][6][7]

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 (34), Darrell Floyd (33), Jonathan Moore (25) and Nield Gordon (27) as the only players to have their number retired.[8]

References
  1. Administrator, News (3 June 2013). "The Corbin-Furman connection". furman.edu. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. NBA Draft Profile, TheDraftReview. "Jerry Smith - The Draft Review". www.thedraftreview.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  3. "Jerry Smith Inks Pro Cage Contract". The Greenville News. July 9, 1963. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Jerry Smith Player Profile, Furman, NCAA Stats, Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  5. "JerrySmithbasketballTheGreenvilleNewsGreenvilleSC7 9 1963Pg6". July 9, 1963. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "1962-63 Detroit Pistons Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com.
  7. "Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York on October 15, 1963 · Page 33". Newspapers.com.
  8. "Furman Basketball To Retire Jerry Smith's #50, Host SoCon Foe Georgia Southern On Saturday". furmanpaladins.com. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.