Otis Smith (basketball)

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Otis Smith

Position	shooting guard small forward
Height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Jersey	#32
Born	January 30, 1964 (1964-01-30) (age 44) Jacksonville, Florida
Nationality	American
High school	Forrest High School, Jacksonville, Florida
College	Jacksonville University
Draft	forty-first, 1986 Denver Nuggets
Pro career	1986–1992
Former teams	Orlando Magic (1989–1992) Golden State Warriors (1987–1989) Denver Nuggets (1986–1988)

Otis Fitzgerald Smith (born January 30, 1964 in Jacksonville, Florida) is a retired American professional basketball player and current general manager of the NBA's Orlando Magic. It was with the Magic that he posted his best statistics as an NBA player, averaging in double digits in points for most of his time there.

1 Early years
2 College
3 Professional career
4 After playing
5 Basketball management
6 Civic work
7 Awards & honors
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Early years

Smith grew up in Jacksonville and was a star athlete at Forrest High School, graduating in 1982.

[edit] College

He played at Jacksonville University (JU) from 1982-1986 and graduated in 1986 with a degree in marketing and management. Among his many honors:

First player to be named to the All-Sun Belt Conference team four consecutive years
Only player in JU history to score 1,700 points and grab 900 rebounds in a career
Ranked 2nd in scoring, 3rd in steals, 2nd for blocked shots, 4th in rebounding and 10th for assists and 1st in number of games played on JU's all-time career list
Ranked 7th in scoring, 3rd in steals, 3rd for blocked shots and 4th in rebounding on Sunbelt Conference's all-time career list
Named AP and Sporting News All-American twice
Basketball Weekly and Basketball Times All-America thrice
1986 Sun Belt Tournament MVP
Jersey was retired at JU in 2002

[edit] Professional career

Smith was taken with the 17th pick in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft out of Jacksonville University by the Denver Nuggets. He played one full season and part of a second with the Nuggets before being traded to the Golden State Warriors during the 1987-88 season. He played the remainder of that season and the 1988-89 season with the warriors.

Otis Smith became a member of the Orlando Magic on June 15, 1989 as one of the 12 players selected in the 1989 NBA Expansion Draft. He was on the roster for the team's inaugural game in the 1989-90 season, and he played there through the 1991-92 season. He posted career highs of 13.9 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game in 1991 with the Magic. Sadly, Smith retired with a knee injury after his sixth season, playing in 375 games, with career averages of 10.5 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, and 1.8 assists per game.^[1]

After taking a hiatus for three years, Smith came out of player retirement in October, 1996 to sign with the Solna Vikings in the Sweden Professional League. He was named MVP of Swedish League in 1997, but decided to leave on a positive note and not play a second year.

[edit] After playing

Smith became Director of Community Relations for the Orlando Magic from 1996-1998, then was Vice President of Marketing & Community Relations for Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida for a year from 1998 to 1999. However, he missed basketball, and joined the Golden State Warriors Foundation as Executive Director of Community Relations from 1999 to August 2002. During the 2002-2003 season, he worked as Executive Director of Basketball Operations for Golden State. Returning to Florida, he spent two years as Director of Player Development for the Magic, then was promoted to Co-General Manager for 2005-2006 season. He was named General Manager of the Orlando Magic on May 3, 2006.^[2]

[edit] Basketball management

As a general manager, his tenure has had several ups and downs. The 2005 first-round draft pick Fran Vázquez failed to sign a contract with the Magic and subsequently went back to Europe to play. His 2006 draft pick of J. J. Redick could not get off the bench. He also hired UF head coach Billy Donovan to replace outsted coach Brian Hill, and days later Donovan backed out of being the Magic head coach. Smith later hired former Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. He also let the 7-foot restricted free agent Darko Miličić become an unrestricted free agent in order to sign Rashard Lewis to a six-year, $113 million deal prior to the start of the 2007-08 season. However, his moves, though seemingly questionable, led the Magic to a 52-win season and the third seed in the East. The Magic extended the contract of Smith for what is persumed to be at least another three seasons. ^[3]

[edit] Civic work

Otis Smith was involved with Volunteers for Youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs of America since college days. In 1989, he founded the Otis F. Smith Foundation (later renamed, the Otis Smith Kids Foundation) which started out conducting free basketball clinics, but grew into an organization with programs that included free summer day camps, after-school tutoring and enrichment programs during the school year such as holiday parties and field trips to sporting events, cultural institutions & local attractions. Health screenings were the last service provided by the foundation, which supported programs targeting at-risk children for 18 years.

[edit] Awards & honors

Given the key to the city of Jacksonville by Mayor Tommy Hazouri in 1988
In June 1993, he was one of 50 people in the US to receive the FBI Directors Award for community service.
Official Torch Bearer of the Olympic Flame for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta (one of 13,267)
Received the 1996 WTLV-TV 12 Who Care Council's Choice Award
Awarded Humanitarian of the Year award from Jacksonville University on February 22, 2002^[4]