| No. 10, 20 | |
|---|---|
| Point guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | January 15, 1947 Peoria, Illinois |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Bradley |
| NBA Draft | 1971 / Round: 11 / Pick: 12th overall |
| Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
| Pro career | 1971–1976 |
| League | ABA |
| Career history | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career ABA statistics | |
| Points | 3,298 |
| Assists | 1,793 |
| Rebounds | 865 |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Alan Richard "Al" Smith (born January 15, 1947) is a retired basketball player who played for five seasons in the American Basketball Association. A point guard during his career, he played for the Denver Rockets and Utah Stars and once lead the ABA in assists in a season.
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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]
In 1971, Smith was drafted by the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls in the 11th round of the NBA Draft.[6] He was also a 4th round draft pick of the American Basketball Association's Denver Rockets 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]
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]
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 champions. As of 2007, Smith was working in Paterson, New Jersey as a school counselor.[5]