Charles D. Smith

Infobox NBA Player
name = Charles Smith
position = Power forward
nickname =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 230
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1965|7|16
birth_place = Bridgeport, Connecticut
college = Pittsburgh
draft = 3rd overall
draft_year = 1988
draft_team = Philadelphia 76ers
career_start = 1988
career_end = 1997
former_teams = Los Angeles Clippers (1988-1992)
New York Knicks (1992-1996)
San Antonio Spurs (1996-1997)
awards =

Charles Daniel Smith (born July 16 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA.

College career

As a college player, Smith was named Big East Player of the Year. Smith led a revitalized University of Pittsburgh basketball program as it moved into a national spotlight. Along with power forward Jerome Lane, Charles Smith and the Pitt Basketball Team became a major force in college basketball. Yet the Panthers were never able to win a national championship during Smith's tenure.

He played for the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, which won the gold medal. [citation | url=http://www.usabasketball.com/inside.php?page=history_content&id=5 | title=USA Basketball History | publisher=USA Basketball | accessdate=2008-08-19] and the 1988 Olympics which won a bronze medal.

NBA career

After his college career the 6' 10", 230 lb power forward was selected third overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers but was immediately traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. After four years with the Clippers where he was among the team's top scorers and rebounders, he was traded to the New York Knicks with Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble for point guard Mark Jackson. Smith was expected to fill the hole at small forward left by Xavier McDaniel after the Knicks failed to re-sign him after their successful 1991-92 season, a role that Smith struggled in as he was primarily a power forward (a role which Charles Oakley had already filled). As Smith's stats declined, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for J.R. Reid before retiring in 1997 due to knee injuries.

As a member of the Knicks, Smith is infamous for missing four consecutive shots directly under the basket as he attempted to give New York the lead in Game Five of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls. After taking a 2-0 lead in the series, the Knicks lost Games Three and Four in Chicago. With a chance to take a 3-2 series lead at the Madison Square Garden, Smith's attempts were hampered by Michael Jordan, Horace Grant, and Scottie Pippen in the final seconds, becoming one of the most notorious and probably most disappointing moments in Knicks history. The Knicks then lost Game Six and the series in Chicago to complete an epic collapse, while the Bulls moved on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals and win their third consecutive championship. Despite the assertion of sports columnist F.J. Urena, that series loss to the Bulls can be hung squarely on Charles Smith's shoulders. From there on, he (along with Pat Ewing, John Starks, and '92 draft bust Hubert Davis) continued to be a hinderance to any Knicks team chances of winning an NBA Championship while playing for them.

Post-retirement

In 1989, Smith founded the Charles D. Smith Foundation and Educational Center, in which the building was the first City Hall in the Northeast, and was later converted into a library. The after school center was created for inner-city school children from kindergarten to 9th grades to improve academics and offer a place for youth to get off the streets. Located in Smith's hometown of Bridgeport, it was his dream since playing at Pitt to operate the center that still stands today.Smith currently resides in New Jersey, but frequently returns to his hometown.

References

External links

*basketball-reference|id=s/smithch01|name=Charles Smith