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Smith prefers to stay on the court as much as possible.
(AP Photo/Gail Oskin)
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Christy
Smith,
Arkansas
Class: Senior
Position: Guard
Height: 5'6"
DOB:
Aug. 14,
1975
Hometown: West Lafayette,
Ind.
High
School: Benton Central
Vital Stats:
11.4 points per game, 4.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 36.5
minutes, 84.2% free
throws
by Dana
Gelin
What's the best thing about Arkansas' surprising run to the
Final Four? Christy Smith gets to squeeze a few more
minutes out of her college
career.
By now, the point guard's endurance is practically
legendary. As a freshman, Smith played every second of all
13 of the Lady Razorbacks' Southeastern Conference
games—even the one that went into overtime. "I guess
I can't complain about my playing
time," she joked
then.
Since that 1994-95 season, when Smith was named the SEC
freshman of the year, she has cut back a bit. Two knee
injuries have occasionally curtailed her playing time. Even
when healthy, Smith rarely spends all 40 minutes on the
floor. Her average is down
to a paltry 36.5 minutes per
game.
Smith isn't just marking time out there. She scores in
double figures, is the Lady 'Backs' top passer and leads
the team in intensity. Four times this season she has
finished games with a bloody lip. "She's what makes
this team go," says coach Gary
Blair.
Certainly, Arkansas has gone much farther than expected.
The Lady Razorbacks are the lowest seed (No. 9 in the West
Region) ever to reach the women's Final Four. The focal point for
their success is the 5'6"
Smith.
Against Harvard in Arkansas' second-round game, she had 19
points, 11 assists and not a single turnover in 35 minutes.
When the Lady Razorbacks beat Duke 77-72 last Sunday to
advance to the national semifinals, Smith hit four free
throws in the game's
final 31 seconds to preserve the win. (Along with playing
lots of minutes, free-throw shooting is a Smith specialty.
As a freshman, her 89.9 percentage was the best in the
country. This season she's hitting 84.2%.)
Smith grew up in West Lafayette, Ind., in a house
surrounded by acres of corn fields. While shooting
basketballs at the hoop her father, Dan, installed in their
yard, Smith would imagine college recruiters hiding among
the stalks to get a peek at her
game. Coaches were in fact keeping an eye on her
progress—albeit from more traditional vantage points—and
from the pool of suitors Smith chose the Lady Razorbacks.
Blair, who was in his second year in Fayetteville when
Smith arrived, has molded the team
around her. "Her greatest ability is to make other
players better," he
says.
That talent served her well last summer when she started
for the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the World
University Games, and it should also make her desirable to
the two women's pro leagues. Her salary expectations,
however, might be enough to
assure her future in the pros. "I probably shouldn't say
this," Smith says, "but they wouldn't even have
to pay
me."
Other Spotlights
March 26: Allen
Edwards, Kentucky
March 25: Mark Madsen, Stanford
March 24: Tamika Catchings, Tennessee
March 22: Jeff Sheppard, Kentucky
March 21: Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut
March 20: Andre Miller, Utah; Alisa Burras,
Louisiana Tech
March 19: Brian Cardinal, Purdue
March 18: Tim Young, Stanford
March 17: Sarunas
Jasikevicius, Maryland; Adia Barnes, Arizona
March 16: Mateen Cleaves, Michigan; Murriel Page, Florida
March 15: Jason Hart, Syracuse
March 14: Kris Johnson, UCLA
March 13: Lee Nailon, Texas Christian
March 12: Brian Earl, Princeton
March 11: Tyrone Weeks, Massachusetts
March 10: Brett Robisch, Oklahoma St.
March 9: Larry Hughes, Saint Louis
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