Stevin L. "Hedake" Smith (born January 24, 1972) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player, who is also known for his involvement in the 1994 Arizona State
point-shaving scandal.
Early life
Smith was born in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas, the only son of Eunice Smith. He was an outstanding
high school basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's ...
player. He played at Arizona State University under
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other Coach (sport), coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manage ...
Bill Frieder. His "Hedake" nickname originally came from his mother, who called her rambunctious child "Headache", but had to shorten the spelling for a personalized license plate.
College career
Stevin “Hedake” Smith played
point guard for
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...
from 1991 through 1994, and was a two-time
All-Pac-10 selection. However, he also became involved in the 1994 Arizona State point-shaving scandal along with ASU teammate Isaac Burton. Smith would bet on his own games that he was fixing and received $20,000 for shaving points in the game against
Oregon State on January 28, 1994.
He was arrested in the summer of 1997, and in December 1997, Smith and Burton pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, admitting taking bribes to fix four games in 1994 Smith was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
Smith holds the Arizona State career records for most three-point shots attempted and most three-point shots made. He shares the career record for most steals with
Fat Lever
Lafayette "Fat" Lever (; born August 18, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He later served as the director of player development for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA as we ...
.
Professional basketball career
After failing to make an
NBA team after leaving college in 1994, Smith took his game overseas, playing for the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
team Somontano Huesca during the 1994-95 season. Over the next four years, Smith played for teams in the Philippines,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
and in the
CBA.
During the
1997 NBA season, Smith signed two consecutive 10-day contracts with the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...
, and received his only NBA playing time. He played 60 minutes over eight games, scoring 14 points for a 1.8 per-game average.
After his release from prison in 2000, Smith returned to Europe and his professional basketball career, playing for three different teams based in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
from 2001–03, in the
Israeli League in 2004 and for
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
for two seasons until 2006. In 2006-07, Smith joined
Legea Scafati of the Italian
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
league.
Post-playing career
Stevin Smith later became the Vice President of the N.O.W. Program, a mentoring program for young people in the Dallas area.
In popular culture
Smith is the subject of an episode of the 2021
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
documentary series ''
Bad Sport
''Bad Sport'' is a 2021 American six-part docuseries created for Netflix.
Summary
The series features six different stories about sports and crime, which are told through first-hand interviews.
Release and reception
It was released on Octo ...
''.
References
External links
NBA statistics@ basketball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Stevin
1972 births
Living people
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American sportspeople
African-American basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Bulgaria
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Israel
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines
American expatriate basketball people in Russia
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
American men's basketball players
Arizona State Sun Devils men's basketball players
Basketball players from Dallas
BC Dynamo Moscow players
CB Peñas Huesca players
Dallas Mavericks players
Grand Rapids Mackers players
Ironi Nahariya players
Israeli Basketball Premier League players
Liga ACB players
Olympique Antibes basketball players
PBC Academic players
Philippine Basketball Association imports
Point guards
Pop Cola Panthers players
Scafati Basket players
Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players
SLUC Nancy Basket players
Undrafted National Basketball Association players