Andrew Smith Dies Of Cancer; Ex Butler Center Was 25 Years Old; Details Released
Andrew Smith, who was a former key player on Brad Steven's two teams as well as a key player for Butler, died on Tuesday after a very long battle with cancer, according to Sports Illustrated. Smith was 25 by the time he was died. His wife, Samantha, confirmed of the news via Twitter on Tuesday afternoon as well as released a statement regarding his husband's death.
Before he was diagnosed, he was a 6-foot-11 freshman reserve on the 2010 team. His first break was when he became a sophomore on the 2011 squad and averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 bounds in each game. During the Butler's loss to UConn (University of Connecticut) in the title game, Smith scored five points and grabbed nine rebounds. He played for the Butler for two more seasons then left to play professionally in Lithuania. In 2013, he returned to his home state of Indiana and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2014.
Even though he was diagnosed with cancer, post-Butler Andrew Smith showed improvement on his health and started working for a local company, Mina Leasing and Financial Services, according to ABC 13. However, he went into cardiac arrest and spent three days in a coma on Jul. 31, 2014 - just a few days into his new office job. Samantha Smith had made into reports on Dec. 7, 2014, that his lymphoma had turned into leukemia even though his husband went into a bone marrow transplant in November.
Unfazed, Smith went to the game in Dec. 19 in Indianapolis to watch the Bulldogs defeat Purdue.
"Andrew packed more living into his 25 years than most of us will enjoy in a full 75 years," Smith's father Curt wrote in a statement, after his son's battle against cancer. "He lived his faith, relished his family, selflessly served his wife, and pursued his passion of basketball at the highest levels."
Andrew Smith's former coach in Butler, Brad Stevens did not attend his current team's - Boston Celtics - game in Chicago on Thursday and opted to visit his cancer-stricken player. "The last week's been tough," Stevens said before his team's match-up with the New York Knicks on Tuesday. "I was happy that I got a chance to say goodbye. And this is really about, when you coach somebody, you get a lot more out of coaching them than they do from you. And that's that. I could go on and on, and it wouldn't do him justice."
