Mark Anthony Smith (born August 16, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for Nagasaki Velca of the Japanese B.League. He previously played for the Illinois Fighting Illini, the Missouri Tigers, and the Kansas State Wildcats.
 Smith with Missouri in 2019 | |
| No. 13 – Nagasaki Velca | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | B.League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | August 16, 1999 Decatur, Illinois, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Edwardsville (Edwardsville, Illinois) |
| College |
|
| Playing career | 2022–present |
| Career history | |
| 2022–2023 | BG Göttingen |
| 2023–2024 | Casademont Zaragoza |
| 2024–present | Nagasaki Velca |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Early life
editSmith is the son of Anthony and Yvonne Smith.[1] His father, Anthony, played college basketball at Southern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville and his mother, Yvonne, also played college basketball at SIU Edwardsville.[1] As a child, Smith was a three-sport athlete, competing in baseball, basketball, and football.[2] While in high school, Smith participated in AAU basketball with the Ramey Jets United program through the Adidas circuit.[2]
High school career
editAs a high school senior, he led Edwardsville to a number one ranking in Illinois for the first time in history while averaging 22 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, and was named to the first-team Associated Press All-state team.[3][4] Smith was also selected as the 2017 Illinois Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year and as 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball.[3]
Recruiting
editDuring his junior year of high school, Smith originally committed to play college baseball for Missouri as a right-handed pitcher.[5] However, in July 2016 Smith decommitted from Missouri given Tim Jamieson's retirement and because of an injury to the flexor pronator tendon in his throwing elbow.[5] Prior to switching his athletic focus to basketball, Smith featured a fastball in the low-90s and was considered a major league baseball prospect out of high school.[5][6]
On April 26, 2017, Smith announced he would attend college at the University of Illinois to play for the Fighting Illini under new head coach Brad Underwood.[7] In talking about schools he was considering through the recruitment process, Smith listed Duke and Michigan State as his finalists.[8] Smith also considered scholarship offers from Kentucky and Ohio State.[8]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Smith SG |
Edwardsville, IL | Edwardsville (IL) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 27, 2017 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82
| ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 80 Rivals: 55 247Sports: 147 ESPN: — | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
editOn March 5, 2018, he announced he would transfer after playing his freshman season at Illinois.[9] On April 14, 2018, Smith announced he would transfer to Missouri.[10] As a senior, he averaged 9.7 points per game while shooting 31.5 percent from three-point range. He moved to Kansas State as a graduate transfer.[11] Smith was named to the Third Team All-Big 12 as well as the All-Newcomer Team.[12]
Professional career
editOn July 5, 2022, he has signed with BG Göttingen of the Basketball Bundesliga.[13]
On July 29, 2023, he signed with Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.[14]
On July 5, 2024, he signed with Nagasaki Velca of the Japanese B.League.[15]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Illinois | 31 | 18 | 19.1 | .337 | .232 | .796 | 1.4 | 1.4 | .6 | .1 | 5.8 |
| 2018–19 | Missouri | 19 | 16 | 28.4 | .436 | .450 | .774 | 5.2 | 1.6 | .7 | .1 | 11.4 |
| 2019–20 | Missouri | 24 | 20 | 26.7 | .393 | .371 | .735 | 3.9 | .8 | .9 | .0 | 10.0 |
| 2020–21 | Missouri | 26 | 24 | 29.6 | .372 | .315 | .765 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .2 | 9.7 |
| 2021–22 | Kansas State | 31 | 31 | 31.7 | .449 | .362 | .709 | 8.4 | 1.7 | 1.1 | .0 | 12.7 |
| Career | 131 | 111 | 26.9 | .402 | .354 | .745 | 4.4 | 1.3 | .8 | .1 | 9.8 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Tupper, Mark (January 3, 2017). "Illini now chasing Edwardsville's Mark Smith". Herald & Review. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Helfgot, Mike (March 25, 2017). "Mr. Basketball of Illinois for 2017: Edwardsville's Mark Smith". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Kvidahl, Dave (April 27, 2017). "Edwardsville's Smith lives out his dream, signs to play for Illinois". STLtoday. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ "2016-17 Associated Press Boys Basketball All-State Teams". IHSA. March 16, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c O'Donnell, Ricky (April 25, 2017). "How Mark Smith went from potential MLB draft pick to a big-time college hoops recruit". SB Nation. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Landis, Bill (April 26, 2017). "Mark Smith commits to Illinois basketball over Ohio State, others". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Shannon (April 26, 2017). "Mark Smith, 2017's Mr. Basketball from Edwardsville, chooses Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ a b Richey, Scott (April 26, 2017). "Smith: 'We're going to be really good'". News Gazette. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
- ^ "Mark Smith to transfer from Illinois". Sporting News. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- ^ Larkin, Will (April 15, 2018). "Mark Smith, former Illini and Mr. Basketball winner, to transfer to Missouri". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Matter, Dave (March 30, 2021). "Former Mizzou guard Mark Smith heads to Kansas State". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ "EHS grad Mark Smtih earns multiple Big 12 honors". Edwardsville Intelligencer. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "Veilchen holen vielseitigen Rookie Smith". bggoettingen.de (in German). July 5, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ Skerletic, Dario (July 29, 2023). "Casademont Zaragoza signs Mark Smith and Obi Emegano". Sportando. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
- ^ "マーク・スミス 選手契約基本合意（新規）のお知らせ". 長崎ヴェルカ (in Japanese). July 5, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.