For my money, its mustache-and-crushed-purple-velvet Smarf. "If you are around him for five minutes, you'd never guess that he is one of the best players in America. Thats the thing that separated us from most. The fights escalated. She had to laugh, you know? Taylor Luster: We felt disrespected because we didnt get new uniforms. He called himself a bully, preying on the weak and strong. To him, it really was a game. STILLWATER, Okla. What distinguishes Oklahoma State freshman Marcus Smart from other elite players is his rarely seen approach to the game, a selfless style of play that wows coaches such as Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Florida's Billy Donovan. I promise you, six years later when you look back, see who is different and who made a difference.". Marcus says now. The Rainbow Warriors and Aztecs will face off on Saturday at 11:00am HST. Back in November, Marcus Smart sent shockwaves across the Celtics roster when he publicly called out Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after an ugly home loss to the Now here we are, three presidential administrations later, and Smart is still getting the same question, still giving the same answer. I guess Marcus mom got in the middle of it and told him, You get back over there right now and apologize to him. He didnt want to. [8][9] He joined the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach in November 2011. He had transferred to Indiana from Garden City Community College in Kansas where he was a two-year standout and Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year. He recalls nearly breaking a kid's neck. The Knicks rookie had Smart as his primary defender for just over 32.4 possessions this season, on which New York mustered just 23 points (71.0 points per 100 possessions). He uncorked much of his anger on the football field, but his greatest emotional release came from fighting. Boren: We played Plano West. the pelting knocked the man to the ground. Kids getting in fights with other kids, parents yelling down at us from the bleachers. Forte: There would be a lot of times our team, youd watch us warm up and on the other end youd have Shabazz Muhammad, at the time, the number one player in the country. The University of Arkansas announced on Wednesday former IU great Keith Smart will be joining Eric Musselmans staff as an assistant coach. DARKO estimates that Smarts true 3-point shooting ability is that of roughly a 36 percent shooter which, coincidentally, is right around what hes shot the past two seasons on just over 700 attempts. Shed play all night if she could. And he told gang members to leave Marcus alone or face Michael's wrath of bullets. And there's Todd and Jeff Westbrook, who were born to a different father decades before Michael and Marcus were born. Were getting ready to take the court. 1M; 0:21. The previous coach informed Thomas the group would be unlike anything he had ever encountered. He is doing something my mom wanted for all of us, to be successful. In Saturday's game against Texas Tech, Marcus scored only three points but didn't care. I think you have to understand, with being in the NBA, especially sometimes after we had just blown an 18-point lead to Chicago. And I was like, Why did I just do that? On May 31, 2013, the Kings fired Smart with one year remaining on his contract. If there was an issue ever, all you got to do is tell mom, and it wasnt going to be an issue anymore. He knew he had devolved into something else, a lost soul perhaps with just seconds left to breathe. Smart: Where do you think I get it from? Marcus Smart Over 5.5 Assists (+100 at BetMGM) Marcus Smart has been working to reintegrate himself into the first-unit offense for the Celticsthat should be easier tonight with Jaylen Brown out. Before every game, I feel he is talking to me. Thats just how it was. Thomas: His IQ was so high that he made coaching so easy just with him on the floor because he sees stuff before it happens. Back in November, Marcus Smart sent shockwaves across the Celtics roster when he publicly called out Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after an ugly home loss to the Chicago Bulls. There was a bit of controversy regarding the play of veteran Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart during the Celtics 110-88 win over the Golden State Warriors I definitely feel that he is out there with me. And he was so damn good at it at such an early age. Just headbands and socks. He wanted to see how he could either get away with stuff or, Whats the most dangerous thing I can do? He was a daredevil. But I think thats what was so good, it never really dragged on. Michael says Marcus regularly encourages him to keep his life above board and tells him how proud he is that Michael, who is now 27 and works at a warehouse, gave up selling drugs a few years ago. He desperately sought to inflict others with the pain that incessantly gnawed at his 12-year-old heart. The first thing he probably said was, or he sent me a picture of his old vertical talking about how I still have some work to do. pic.twitter.com/maWhp5pfaz, Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) May 26, 2018. They turn they smile. Smart, who is the son of Indiana basketball legend Keith Smart, who hit the game winning shot for the Hoosiers in the 1987 National Championship said that his father was impressed with the play. His son got it the worst. Smart routinely made things difficult on Detroits ball-handlers until they coughed up the orange sphere, helping the Celtics ultimately cruise to their league-leading 42nd win of the season. That's a lesson learned. Behind Marcus, the footsteps and menacing voice grew louder. [1] He had transferred to Indiana from Garden City Community College in Kansas where he was a two-year standout and Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year. Rage burned inside him after seeing cancer overtake one older brother and cocaine nearly destroy another. We were wrestling and broke my dads bed. Says Marcus, "People always ask me, 'How are you so humble?' "It's called a straight arrow. They were a ragtag group that didnt look like much, but regularly won major tournaments and did so while bouncing from one altercation to the next. Marcus then put his hands in the air, saying, "Todd is just like a butterfly. We had fights in the parking lots, fights with other teams, fights with other parents. Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford remembers urging Smart to take some time off after he returned from the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championships in Brazil, but Smart instead was in the gym working out the next day. His son was on a team Clyde was coaching. Marcus jumped right in his way, and he pushed Marcus. And my other brother, I saw what he was doing and Im just like this aint it. Got to release it. Controllers being thrown around. OK. Well see. Then I got into some trouble my freshman year. marcus smart (@smart_MS3) September 4, 2020 To Smarts credit, hes pretty patient with Our Cousin at least at first who seems to have confused puns with But after losing Todd and nearly losing Michael, while surrounded by classmates flashing gang signs and guns on street corners, Marcus says, "I just felt really lost. Well, Marcus is trailing the play. But when Marcus looked again, all he saw was the bike. In that stretch, the Flower Mound native has put up 11.9 All I kept thinking was, Am I going to die? He told us we could go home. He would throw knives and branches at people. Smart has only gone over this number in three games since returning to the lineup, but that was the only game with Brown out, like he is tonight. Marcus was bred in a close-knit family that rarely sulked despite tragedy. Each brother has a tattoo in memory of Todd. We would never turn that down. "You see how he thinks?" "Thank God I had both parents and older brothers. Forte: It took him a while to get recognition over some of the top guys in the country just because he didnt shoot it great. But if she said it, it went. The team won. There is nothing wrong with having pride, but if he ever disrespected somebody, she would just get right in the middle of it. Thomas: They did us wrong (during the second Adidas Super 64 run). He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indiana Hoosiers a 7473 victory over the Syracuse Orangemen. My dad comes in: What the fuck is going on? I remember boxes of shit arriving at tip-off. It is what it is, and well go and win the next game.. This is what I love., Boren: (In Vegas) one night, the kids had got done playing, the adults are going out, its probably 11, 12 midnight. Back in Camellia's suburban home, which is filled with Marcus' trophies, signed basketballs and Adidas shoes from the McDonald's All-American game, she walked to the fireplace and picked up a team picture of Todd from Lancaster's 1987-1988 season. 7:06 PM Keith Smith @ KeithSmithNBA Ime Udoka said Marcus It was crazy. Forte: We won the Super 64 back to back years. Come give me a hug. Its just funny because you like, Yall was just ready about to kill each other. But thats his son and thats just how Thats their relationship. He would get in three fights per week. Your mom and them, everybody come up here. And Im like, Yeah. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. [12][13] 3. On one occasion, he and a friend were jumped and outnumbered by guys. If he missed a couple free throws, oh, shed almost smack all the hair off his head. Supplemental Privacy Policy for Singapore. Dont sit there if you didnt want to play, you know that. I wasnt angry or mad or anything, Tatum said. Free shipping for many products! Him passing away, it was not him ending; it was him starting something new through me. WebMarcus Smart (ankle) is not on the injury report and will return for Wednesday's game vs the Pistons. The things I do now, I am fully aware of. I dont really know you like that. You know how you dunk the ball and you all hype. So she hasnt moved. So he just showed up and hed just kick your butt every game and eventually people were like, This dude just wins and no matter who hes guarding. Kenny Boren, one of Smarts high school coaches and a regular on the AAU circuit: In Vegas, in between games wed go to Walmart and Im not going to say steal, because we put them back. Warriors. But Marcus also had other images seared into his mind: his 19-year-old brother Michael, who had been a talented point guard at Lancaster High, spiraling into a world of gangs, drugs and guns. I can talk. And we were like, All right. Even the ref laughed. Marcus knew he no longer was the generous kid who as a 4-year-old gave a homeless man his coveted $20 bill, no longer the innocent child who pedaled his bike in cowboy boots to McDonald's for free burgers. We had some time to sleep. Freak athlete. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim says that by season's end there may not be a more valuable player in the country. Marcus Smart started Thursday's Boston Celtics - Indiana Pacers game. It was just his second game since injuring his ankle on January 16th. Thats fine, pack your stuff up. Down seven, like six minutes to go. I mean, the best thing he did was run his mouth and play defense. The system is designed to be updated daily with new data points, accounting for recency, and offering essentially a real-time estimate of a players skill level in different areas. I was seeing it. Shes passionate like me. Not just football, but also with how he is carrying himself and conducting himself. Me and Phil got into it on the elevator. Smart: We always played two grades up. According to Spotrac, Smart has estimated career earnings of just under $40 million on his basketball contracts, with another $27 million due over the next two seasons on his current deal with the Celtics. If we climbed a tree, hed try to climb as high as he could and then just jump off. Jeff Luster: Marcus, thats when his nuts really dropped. Michael stopped him at the door before Marcus had the chance to hunt down the kids. We were a great group, the parents, we all got along and stuff but you know how it is. Marcus pulled out a pocketknife. I think thats the best thing about our group, our AAU team, that made it so special. Boren: Then theyd all go out and have a good time at the end of the night. Who led the season more times? When you see it in front of you, it's terrifying.". Were never going to ask anything of you. After his brother Todd Westbrook passed away from cancer in 2004, Smart started to get into a bunch of trouble. I thought Marcus was going to get punched on, but he went up and contested it. They made quick turns and knew a low-hanging branch required them to duck. Fueled by adrenaline and fear, Marcus sprinted faster than he ever had on the football field or basketball court, zigzagging through alleyways to an adjacent complex, The Meadows. Marcus is in the NBA (after being selected sixth overall by the Celtics out of Oklahoma State in 2014). [5] Smart later played in the Continental Basketball Association with the Rapid City Thrillers (199596) and Fort Wayne Fury (199697). He made less than 30 percent of his 3s in two seasons at Oklahoma State and then again across the first four seasons of his NBA career. Never personal. You look at Marcus. Taylor Luster: We used to play this game in the neighborhood. He always laughs about it, like, Thats the day that I actually started to have some respect for you., Long before he was a fan favorite in Boston, Smart was beloved by his close-knit AAU team. Picture that Keith Smart (right) sent to Jared Smart following his sons spectacular catch. I would have been in the same one, but my mom did not want me to go to that school because it just got bad. And not just verbally. Thats a bad but not horrible stat line but the Hornets, as a team, managed just 77 points on those possessions. Comments? That's the reason I really started to love the game of basketball. According to ESPN, he was one of (at that time) four NBA players who had tested positive and volunteered to donate his blood for the research of possible treatments: Michael Joyner, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, told ABC News that at least four NBA players who have recovered from the infection plan to donate blood for the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project, an experimental treatment that could help high-risk patients recover from the virus. Kemba Walker was surely excited to join a contender in the Boston Celtics but simply avoiding Smart as a defender may have been a bonus. Life is more than just a game. You know what Im saying? Ill give you one 3-pointer (if) you give me four or five offensive rebounds. And hed count them. Were walking out. (Bob DiChiara / USA Today). And he goes, Coach thats five. OK, you get one. An extra hand on my back helping to guide me. "I ask God to bless me and my family to be together for Christmas.". Camellia says Marcus only told her he was sick, not that he smoked pot. Jeff Luster: Theyre going to be life-long friends, man. Marcus and the head coach get into it. From those four options, the objective answer is clearly D. If were putting everything weve already seen on the table, lets go with the horns. Though the cancer spread to his lungs, then his stomach, Todd always found enough resolve to mentor his brothers. Getting to Know: Marcus Smart's family at the forefront Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports View Comments 0:04 0:35 Freshman Marcus Smart%27s brother died from It was just his second game since injuring his ankle on January 16th. Boren: The person that Marcus is today and the player is built by her. ", Fran Fraschilla, the ESPN analyst and Dallas resident who has watched Marcus play since the ninth grade, says, "It is very rare you see a young player with the countenance and knowledge of a 10-year NBA player If you're going into an alley fight, and you have the Incredible Hulk on your side, you feel pretty good. Michael saw friends accumulate up to $8,000 a week working the streets, driving Mercedes Benzes and '86 Chevys. Marcus Smart delivers a no-look, over-the-shoulder dime. Everybody was always welcome. They were decked out in gold and diamonds and had oversized flat-screen televisions before much of suburban American owned one. I liked football more. 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