A.D. Smith has been a positive presence in his five years as a member of the Oregon basketball program.
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The Oregon Daily Emerald, the
independent student newspaper at the
University of Oregon, is accepting
applications for Editor in Chief
for 2000-2001.
Editor is responsible for all editorial
operations and editorial content of the
newspaper.
Interested parties should pick up an
application packet, which includes a job
description, at the ODE front desk in Suite
300 EMU or call 346-5511 for more
information.
Application deadline is Tuesday March 28
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University.
Ryan Starkweather Emerald
To the delight of fans and teammates, Smith returned to action last weekend.
A.D. Smith
continued from page 7
Beavers’ fan.
“I didn’t know I wanted to be a
Duck until a week before I
signed,” Smith said. “I grew up a
Beavers’ fan, and that was some
thing that I wanted to do ever
since I was a little kid. But I had an
opportunity to go there, similar to
the one I got here, and I just
thought at that time that coming
here was the best decision for me.”
According to Smith, overriding
factors influenced his decision to
switch over from the orange-and
black to the green-and-yellow.
“Having the opportunity to
have my family here was impor
tant,” Smith said. “No one else
on our team has that opportunity
with the exception of Freddie
[Jones from Gresham] and David
[Jackson from Portland] to have
their family come watch. My
family has seen just about every
game I’ve played here.”
Smith has played quite a few.
Out of 116 in all, which game
does he hold closest to his heart?
Could it be the game against
Hawaii earlier this season when
he put a clinic, collecting a ca
reer-high 29 points and nine
boards? Could it be when he led
the Ducks with 22 points against
his former school of choice, Ore
gon State?
“It’s ironic that out of all the
games I’ve been a part of, the Ari
zona State game was one of the
most emotional, and that was the
only game I didn’t play in,” said
Smith, who sat out after sustain
ing a broken cheekbone the
weekend before. “It was the way
it ended and how big it was.
“The way the guys came to
gether, with Alex [Scales] and
Darius [Wright] making big plays,
that’s the game I will certainly re
member for a long time.”
Most people expected to see
Smith in street clothes watching
the game from the sideline, just
two days after surgery was per
formed to repair his cheekbone
and three metal plates were insert
ed to keep it in place. But there he
was, in warm-ups, suited-up,
wearing a specialized mask.
Smith said agreeing with the
doctors’ initial prognosis that
he’d be out until the postseason
was hard, but it was something
he tried to stay positive about.
“Certainly, it was an emotional
time,” Smith said. “You can have
tears about not being able to play
in the tournament. But even at
that time, it was just a hurdle,
and I felt like it was something I
could handle. If I didn’t come
back, I could look back on my ca
reer and feel comfortable.”
Although he didn’t play in
Oregon’s amazing victory over
the Sun Devils, Smith refused to
stay out of the line-up, heroically
returning to give the Ducks? an
emotional lift in their victory
over No.3 Arizona, scoring eight
points and grabbing four re
bounds.
“It was a lot of fun to just to
come back out there because ear
lier I didn’t know if I would ever
get another chance,” Smith said.
“I was still pretty upbeat because
of the opportunity to come back
sooner than expected in a big
game and a big weekend like
that.”
When Smith entered the game
mid-way through the first half,
McArthur Court erupted in ap
plause. The Oregon fans wanted
Smith to know their admiration.
“I’ve gotten a lot of support
ever since I’ve been here, and the
people in the community have
been real good to me,” Smith
said. “But Saturday was excep
tional. The support I’ve gotten
from being hurt, literally over
100 different calls, e-mails and
cards, has really been a great re
ception.
After five years in the Ducks’
program, Smith finally gets his
wish this year, an invitation to
“March Madness.” Smith red
shirted his sophomore year, and
he insists it was one of the best
decisions he’s ever made. It has
allowed him to pursue a masters
degree, something Smith said he
“wouldn’t have done if he was
here only four years.”
“I am happy I chose to redshirt
because it’s really expanded my
opportunities, both from a bas
ketball perspective, and also
from the school side.
“It’s been one of the best deci
sions I’ve ever made.”