Curt "Trouble" Smith (born February 4, 1971) is an American former basketball player best known as a

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

legend in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

areas. He played college basketball at

Compton College Compton College is a Public college, public community college in Compton, California. From 2006, when it lost its regional accreditation, to 2017, when it regained that accreditation, it operated as a part of El Camino College. Before and after ...

and then

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

. While at Drake, Smith was named the

Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Missouri Valley Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1968–69 season. It was renamed to honor ...

as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

in 1992–93. In high school, Smith was an All-American who was chosen to play in the Capital Classic in 1989, which was the premier All-American showcase game at the time. He matched up opposite Kenny Anderson, who was considered the best high school basketball player ever (pre-

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

), yet Smith outplayed him. Smith then spent his first two college basketball seasons playing at Compton College, now called

El Camino College El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a public community college in Los Angeles County, California. Most of it is in Alondra Park,Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

. After lighting it up at the junior college level—he once scored 48 points against Harbor Community College—he moved on to play

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

ball at Drake. During his first season playing for the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

, Smith was named the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

's Newcomer of the Year as well as its player of the year, earning the rare double honor. That season he averaged approximately 21 points, 5 assists and 3 steals per game while helping to turn the program around after bad seasons the previous years. He did not return to Drake as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1993–94. After college he played professional basketball, including stints in the IBA,

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

and

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

. In 1997–98, Smith was named the Most Valuable Player of the USBL.

Kevin Durant Kevin Wayne Durant (born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Durant has won two List of NBA champions, NBA champ ...

of the NBA has described Smith as the best basketball player ever to come out of the Washington metropolitan area.

References

External links

College stats @ Sports-reference.comIBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Curt 1971 births Living people Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Drake Bulldogs men's basketball players El Camino College alumni Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Point guards Street basketball players American men's basketball players United States Basketball League players 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References

External links