Mike Smith (basketball, born 1997)
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Smith at Michigan in 2020
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| No. 21 – Karşıyaka Basket | |
|---|---|
| Point guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 13, 1997 Burr Ridge, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Fenwick (Oak Park, Illinois) |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College |
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| NBA Draft | 2021 / Undrafted |
| Pro career | 2021–present |
| League | Basketbol Süper Ligi |
| Career history | |
| 2021–2022 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 2022 | Wellington Saints |
| 2022–2023 | Astoria Bydgoszcz |
| 2023 | Rostock Seawolves |
| 2024–2025 | Borac Čačak |
| 2025–present | Karşıyaka Basket |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Michael Soloman Smith, born on October 13, 1997, is an American professional basketball player. He plays for Karşıyaka Basket in Turkey's top basketball league, the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Before turning pro, he played college basketball for the Columbia Lions and the Michigan Wolverines.
Mike was the top scorer in the Ivy League during the 2019–20 season. He also holds a special record in the Big Ten men's basketball tournament for having 15 assists in one game. He led both the Ivy League (2017–18) and the Big Ten (2020–21) in assists per game, meaning he was great at setting up his teammates to score.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
When Mike was in eighth grade in 2012, he led his middle school team in Burr Ridge, Illinois, to win a state championship. He was a starter on the varsity basketball team for all four years at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois.
On January 18, 2016, during his senior year, Mike scored a career-high 38 points in a game. Five days later, he scored 34 points in another game. He helped Fenwick win the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) championship, scoring 27 points in the final game.
In his senior season, Mike averaged 19.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. His team won a school-record 28 games that year. He finished his high school career with 1,800 points, which is the second-most in Fenwick High School history. He was named the Pioneer Press All-Area player of the year and the CCL player of the year.
On March 26, Mike decided to play college basketball for Columbia University. He had other offers from different colleges but chose Columbia.
College Basketball Career
Playing for Columbia University
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On November 11, 2016, Mike played his first college game for Columbia. He scored 14 points in a win against Stony Brook. As a freshman, he scored a season-high 24 points against Cornell. He started all 27 games and set a new record for the most points scored by a first-year player at Columbia with 368 points. He averaged 13.6 points and 3.4 assists per game.
In his second year, Mike scored a season-high 28 points against Navy on December 10. He led his team with 17.6 points per game, which was second-best in the Ivy League. He also led the conference with 4.6 assists per game. For his great play, he was named to the second-team All-Ivy League.
During his junior year, on November 16, 2018, Mike scored a career-high 31 points against Youngstown State. He matched this career-high on December 2, scoring 31 points and making 5 steals in a double-overtime game against Delaware. Unfortunately, he had to miss the rest of the season after tearing a meniscus in his knee. He had played in eight games, averaging 15.8 points and 5 assists per game.
Mike returned for his senior season on November 5, 2019, scoring 22 points. On February 15, 2020, he scored a new career-high of 38 points in a double-overtime game against Harvard. This was the most points scored by a Columbia player in a single game since 1991. One week later, he scored 37 points against Yale. As a senior, he led the Ivy League with 22.8 points per game, along with 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He was again named to the second-team All-Ivy League. He scored 684 points in his senior year, which is the second-highest single-season total in Columbia's history.
Playing for Michigan University
On April 10, 2020, Mike announced he would transfer to Michigan University for his final college season. He was excited to play for Michigan's head coach, Juwan Howard. ESPN ranked Mike as the 11th best graduate transfer player. He chose Michigan over other big schools like Gonzaga and Arizona.
In his first game for Michigan on November 25, Mike scored 16 points and had eight assists in a win against Bowling Green. On March 7, 2021, he scored 11 points and had seven assists against Michigan State. With these assists, he reached over 500 career assists.
On March 12, Michigan started its 2021 Big Ten men's basketball tournament with a win over Maryland. Mike led Michigan with 18 points and set a Big Ten Tournament record with 15 assists in that game. He averaged 9 points and 5.3 assists per game for Michigan. He helped lead the team to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. On April 7, 2021, Mike decided to enter the 2021 NBA draft. His 5.3 assists per game also led the Big Ten conference.
Professional Basketball Career
Sioux Falls Skyforce (2021–2022)
After the 2021 NBA draft, Mike joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2021 NBA Summer League. He was then chosen by the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the 2021 NBA G League draft. In 42 games during the 2021–22 NBA G League season, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
Wellington Saints (2022)
On May 3, 2022, Mike signed with the Wellington Saints to play in the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.
Astoria Bydgoszcz (2022–2023)
On August 4, 2022, he signed with Astoria Bydgoszcz in the Polish Basketball League (PLK).
Rostock Seawolves (2023)
On July 11, 2023, he signed with Rostock Seawolves in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) in Germany.
Karşıyaka Basket (2025–present)
On March 22, 2025, he signed with Karşıyaka Basket in the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) in Turkey.
Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Columbia | 27 | 27 | 31.4 | .401 | .382 | .821 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .0 | 13.6 |
| 2017–18 | Columbia | 27 | 26 | 34.0 | .390 | .308 | .842 | 2.6 | 4.6 | 1.1 | .0 | 17.6 |
| 2018–19 | Columbia | 8 | 7 | 31.8 | .415 | .250 | .853 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 2.3 | .0 | 15.8 |
| 2019–20 | Columbia | 30 | 30 | 37.7 | .431 | .339 | .813 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 1.5 | .0 | 22.8 |
| 2020–21 | Michigan | 28 | 28 | 31.6 | .412 | .418 | .793 | 2.8 | 5.3 | .5 | .0 | 9.0 |
| Career | 120 | 118 | 33.7 | .411 | .343 | .824 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 1.1 | .0 | 15.9 | |
Personal Life
Mike Smith grew up as a fan of the Chicago Bulls basketball team. He became good friends with NBA player Jimmy Butler after meeting him in 2016. Mike has trained with and lived with Butler during the off-season, and Butler has been a mentor to him. Mike is also friends with the popular basketball YouTuber KOT4Q.
Images for kids
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Smith in 2022 with Astoria Bydgoszcz
See also
In Spanish: Mike Smith (baloncestista de 1997) para niños
