Randy Smith, 60, apparently suffered a heart attack, while riding a treadmill at his home in Norwich. Randy Smith, Buffalo State's all-time athletic hero and one of the most popular players in Buffalo Braves history, died unexpectedly in Connecticut on Thursday, according to close friends and former college teammates.
The former NBA "Iron Man" first came to Buffalo in 1967 to compete in a state high school track meet at Buffalo State. Randy Smith won the high jump at a state-record 6 feet, 6 inches and was recruited by Buffalo State, where Randy Smith became an All-American in Division I soccer and on the small college level in basketball and track and field. Randy Smith led the Bengals to the NCAA College Division Final Four in Evansville, Ind., in 1970.
Durie Burns, a teammate of Randy Smith's at Buffalo State, told The News that he had learned of Randy Smith's death from Randy Smith's wife, Angela.
"I was shocked," said Burns, who now lives in Orange Park, Fla. "My wife and I had been with Randy Smith and his wife at Randy Smith mother's 78th birthday celebration in North Carolina not long ago."
Randy Smith was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in the seventh round in 1971. Coach Johnny McCarthy gave the rookie his first career start as a 6-foot-3 small forward against Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor and the Los Angeles Lakers in Memorial Auditorium. Randy Smith didn't shrink from that challenge and continued to excite Buffalo fans for the next seven seasons before the team moved to San Diego. By the time the Braves left, Randy Smith had scored 10,465 points, surpassing Bob McAdoo's team record of 9,434. Randy Smith averaged 24.6 points in the Braves' final season.
Over a stretch of 12 seasons - a record 906 games - Randy Smith never missed a game in the NBA. The streak began in 1973 with Buffalo and continued until the 1982-83 season during his second stint with San Diego. Randy Smith also played with Cleveland, the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks in his NBA career. Randy Smith scored 26,262 points in 976 NBA games in his career and was the Most Valuable Player of the 1978 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta after he scored 27 points off the bench.
1973-74, Randy Smith was one of several stars on an exciting Braves team under Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay.
After Randy Smith's playing career ended, Randy Smith joined the NBA front office as director of player programs. After a few years, Randy Smith left the league office to coach the Hartford Hellcats team in the Continental Basketball Association in 1995. It was a failed effort. The easy going Randy Smith just wasn't hard-bitten enough to be a coach. A year later he went to work as an executive host for the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., where Randy Smith remained until his death.
The Randy Smith League, the inner-city youth basketball program Randy Smith sponsored, carried on in Buffalo after he left the city. Randy Smith was enshrined in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Hall's second class.
A native of Bellport, on Long Island, Randy Smith is survived by his second wife, Angela, two sons, Brandon and Dominique, and a daughter, Terran.
This is for Randy Smith fans Randy Smith autographed Basketball Card (New York Knicks)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post a Comment