Jim Smitts

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Jimmy Smitts
Position Shooting guard
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
League NBA
Born April 20, 1967 (1967-04-20) (age 41)
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Nationality American
College Kalamazoo State University
Draft Undrafted
Pro career 1988–1998
Former teams Phoenix Suns (1988–1992)
Seattle SuperSonics (1992–1996)
Utah Jazz (1998)
Muskegon MissleThrowers (2007–)
Official profile Info Page

James Emmanuel Smitts, Kalamazoo, MI (born April 20, 1967), is a former professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and the Utah Jazz. In 2007 he began a comeback with the Greater Michigan Basketball Association's Muskegon MissleThrowers.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Jimmy Smitts was born in Kalamazoo, MI on April 20, 1967 to parents Roberta (ne Geraldo) and Jedediah Smitts. Smitts has one sibling, Ricky Smitts. Growing up in western Michigan, Jim excelled in everything a normal kid would; Jazz Flute, Coloring, and Basketball. From the age of 3, Smitts was an avid basketball player. Many joke his jump shot was more fluid in 1970 than present day. While at Kalamazoo Christian High School, Smitts led his team in two statistics; turnovers, and missed shots.

[edit] College career

Smitts attended Kalamazoo State University without being recruited, or even asked for that matter to try out for the team. However, he did, and because coach Bucky Bungalow at the time thought he was severely disabled, he allowed him to join the team as a manager. Over the next two years, Smitts would dress in his now infamous #14 uniform, but never see a minute of the action.

Everything would change in Smitts' junior year, when Zoo State's star shooting guard, Freddie "Boom Boom" Shaloom, went down with a torn ACL. Unfortunetly for coach Bungalow and the Racers, they had no suitable back up at shooting guard position. Thus was the beginning of a legend. Smitts took the court and missed 14 consecutive field goals, still a school record. But, Bungalow liked his intensity and hustle. In turn, in a move that Bungalow would regret for a decades, he gave him a permanent spot on the team.

When his senior year rolled around, Freddie Shaloom had graduated and Smitts remained the teams starting shooting guard. Unfortunetly, Zoo State struggled through another 0-27 season in 1987-88, bringing their losing streak to a national worst at the time, 51. But the programs fortunes would change on March 1, 1988 against fledgling Colgate University. With 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock, and Colgate clinging to a 1 point lead, the Racers inbounded the ball to Jim Smitts. Smitts completely ignored Bungalow's instructions to pass the ball off, and instead shot a 36 footer as time expired. Jim missed the shot so badly, he hit the top of the backboard. But the gods were looking down on him that day, and the ball bounced off the top of the board and fell into the hoop. Smitts won the game for his team, and opened some scouts eyes in the process.

[edit] NBA career

[edit] Phoenix

Smitts signed as an undrafted free agent with the Phoenix Suns on June 21, 1988. To this day, no one in the Suns organization will take responsibility for giving Jimmy Smitts a chance to play professionally, but many point the finger at long time scout Chuck Vandelew. Vandelew, fired at the onset of the 1989 season, would never receive another position with any team in professional basketball.

His years in Phoenix were littered with up and downs.

[edit] Seattle

After spending his first four years in Arizona, Smitts traveled up the western seaboard to a quaint little town called Seattle.

[edit] Utah

[edit] Exile

After the second incident with Kemp following the Sonics playoff departure, Smitts went missing. Although the wear abouts of his travels are unclear to this day, he was spotted in such places as; the Congo, South Africa, and Greece. Various first hand accounts say Smitts' early days in the Congo to be rather rough. He is described as distant, very weary, and utterly petrified. After a few months in the Congo, he is reported to have traveled to South Africa via a German Sheppard.

[edit] Life after the NBA

Jim Smitts retired from the NBA on June 21, 1998. He would go on to work for the Dave & Busters restaurant chain for 7 years as a valet, winning numerous customer service awards in the process. After being fired, Smitts entered himself in various hot dog, chaloopa, and ice cream eating contests. Never finishing above 9th place in any of them.

[edit] October 26, 2004

[edit] The comeback

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] NCAA

Season Team GP GS PPG APG RPG FG% 3P% FT%
1986-87 KSU 12 12 2.4 1.1 0.6 0.214 0.101 0.422
1987-88 KSU 28 28 4.7 2.5 1.2 0.357 0.246 0.513

[edit] NBA

Season Team GP GS PPG APG RPG FG% 3P% FT%
1988–89 Phoenix 74 12 4.4 1.0 0.5 0.262 0.136 0.423
1989–90 Phoenix 71 6 5.1 2.0 0.6 0.314 0.274 0.561
1990–91 Phoenix 65 8 5.5 1.9 1.0 0.326 0.298 0.584
1991–92 Phoenix 61 4 5.1 1.0 0.7 0.271 0.104 0.483
1992–93 Seattle 66 5 6.2 1.4 1.6 0.378 0.350 0.680
1993–94 Seattle 78 11 7.3 2.2 1.8 0.374 0.326 0.681
1994–95 Seattle 81 72 7.6 3.7 2.0 0.385 0.330 0.686
1995–96 Seattle 55 55 4.1 1.5 1.9 0.247 0.201 0.473
1996–97 DNP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Utah 20 20 2.1 1.0 1.2 0.217 0.104 0.455

[edit] GMBL

Season Team GP GS PPG APG RPG FG% 3P% FT%
2007 Muskegon 28 20 3.2 1.0 1.4 0.281 0.177 0.445

[edit] Trivia

  • Smitts is mentioned in Family Guy, Episode 10 of Season 4 by Peter Griffin and Carter Pewterschmidt. Peter acknowledges seeing Smitts at a night club.
  • Smitts holds many of Kalamazoo State's most unwanted records; Lowest FG Percentage, Most Turnovers and Lowest Free Throw Percentage.