Virginia Tech senior guard Adam Smith, who is on track to graduate in May, will transfer to another school to play his fifth year of eligibility. Smith transferred to Virginia Tech in the summer of 2012 following his freshman season at UNC Wilmington. He sat out the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules and has played the last two seasons for the Hokies. Smith appeared in all 33 games this past season and led the Hokies in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game. (He was also open from three anywhere in the gym.)
"We are very thankful for who Adam has been to our program on and off the floor during his time here," head coach Buzz Williams said in a release. "He is scheduled to graduate on time, and he has made the decision to play his fifth year elsewhere. We wish him all the best."
"For the past three years, I've strived to be the very best that I could be, both in the classroom and on the basketball court at Virginia Tech, and it has been a very rewarding experience," Smith said in a release. "I'd like to thank Coach Buzz Williams for the tremendous leadership, mentorship, and guidance he provided me with during this past year. It contributed directly to my success on the court and in the classroom. As I look to the future, I have decided to use my fifth Year of eligibility to pursue my higher education and basketball dreams at another collegiate institution, which may more closely align with my immediate goals."
Comments
We'll always have the Pitt game Adam
Butts.
Damn, hate to see him go. But thanks to Adam for his contributions to our team, and congratulations on graduating from the best university there is.
Not surprising considering the guard/wing situation, but still going to miss him
Best of luck. Good shooter but a horrific defender
As expected the necessary scholarship is now available. I didn't expect Smith to be the one to transfer but that sort of stuff is almost impossible to predict.
I had a feeling despite all of the reasons why it would make sense for him to stay. Two transfers in college has to be tough. Hope he has a great 5th year wherever he is at.
not as tough since he can graduate and basically move on to grad school. much tougher to transfer credits for undergrad degrees. I wonder how much language credit you would get for Swahili?
Well this stinks. Best of luck to him though. He'll probably end up in a NCAA tourney game next year(AKA "immediate goals").
I'm not sure Buzz realizes he's always going to lose the turnover battle to Bud Foster. Props for trying though
(Good luck Adam)
Good luck, Adam! I'll be rooting for you no matter where you end up!!*
*offer does not apply if you end up at WVU
** or Jefferson's Mistake
I always thought he was our best offensive guard, but hopefully no one else transfers (although I expect Wilson to)
I wouldn't mind Wilson transferring to the football field given the recent attrition at WR.
I was kind of hoping it would be Wilson, I appreciate everything that he has done for us, and he has played really hard. I just don't see him as an ACC caliber point guard and I don't think he is going to get any minutes at all next season. I foresee Allen and Robinson getting most of the minutes.
Tough loss but a necc one. Seth Allen the shots are all yours!
Fitting this happened the day we started Marx in my political theory class
I hope I don't dilute the joke, that's really excellent
Hopefully this paves the way to get another frontcourt player in here from juco
I am disappointed that he will be leaving and not staying with the team during our rise to relevance. But I can understand his desire for more playing time might be better served at another university. He is using the system the right way, he has graduated and now he can move on.
Good luck in the future, just hopefully not for anybody we play against next year.
Adam Smith seemed like a quality leader for this team. I hope the new guys can come in and make a statement next year, but I think both Smith's scoring and leadership will be missed. Often times this year, he was our lone bright spot offensively speaking. The future definitely looks bright for Adam, and I think the Hokies will miss the example he led.
At the end of the season:
Today:
Room for Mike Thorne Jr now....
Buzz is going to have to beat out Kansas and a couple other blue bloods to get Thorne. Besides, I dont see Buzz going after a one and done transfer right now, since next season is still expected to be a developmental year. He wants guys ready to go primetime in 2016, so Thorne doesnt really help with that.
FWIW Jerry Meyer tweeted this out earlier today.
He would immediately start at center for us.
Yeah, he would be a great fit. Give someone for Pierce to play behind for a year. Everyone is down on Pierce but that is because he was playing way too many minutes. He should have been a <10mpg guy this year and his sophomore year and be ready for starters minutes his last two years. He showed flashes. I think he's ahead of where JVZ was a Freshman.
I agree. I wouldnt mind bringing someone in that Pierce can come off the bench for. I think Pierce will be a totally different player his junior and senior seasons especially if he beefs up.
He is well ahead of Jvz in terms of development, but they will not be similar in terms of playing style. We will see what happens.
Most people got down on Pierce for his inability to stay on the court. There were very few games, even after JVZ left that Pierce got what I would consider "starter minutes". Most times it was because of foul troubles but other times it was plain effort and desire. Pierce for the season averaged 13.8 mpg and in the ACC 15.5 with JVZ gone. He broke 20 minutes in only 6 out of the 18 ACC games. Only two of those games came in the last 14 games of the season. He played less than 10 minutes in 4 of the 18 ACC games and was a Coaches Decision DNP against NC State. That DNP came on the heels of a four game stretch where Pierce managed to get 7, 4, 11, and 8 minutes per game respectively. The biggest problem being fouls, he had 3 or more in 12 of the 18 ACC games, fouling out three times.
All that said, it was a better learning experience than he might have gotten otherwise and there were a few bright moments during the season.
FWIW, don't expect him to go after Levi Cook nearly as hard as he just recently tore his ACL and will likely need a redshirt year.
Yeah, I would say he is looking for a graduate transfer for the post specifically. The last thing he wants to do is load up the scholarship numbers with a freshman that's been picked over. That is what he was eluding to when he said he wasn't sure he should have offered those scholarships late last year like he did.
Right now, he would only have Shane Henry coming off the books after next season. He's going to need at least two spots. LeDay and Allen will only be Juniors next year. A graduate eligible senior in the post would be a perfect fit, IMO. Someone Pierce could train behind for a year.
And I expect he will try to find a 4-man from the JUCO ranks. I doubt he wants to be forced into the 4-Guard lineup again, but with only LeDay and Henry as traditional 4's, he could use another body there. Is Ahmad Muhammed still available? He could work well with LeDay.
Just curious.....how does one "elude to"? I can understand running away from, but would going toward something be the opposite of eluding?
Grammar....It'll get after ya
allude/elude and affect/effect are words that I have decided not to learn their actual application. I generally just use the terms "refer" and "impact" instead of getting anywhere near these terms. stupid language.
English, it'll get after ya!
Best of luck, Mr. Smith. I was hoping you'd stay, but it's cool. You've got a fine, fine deep jumper. Go get that graduate degree.
It would not surprise me if Smith has a NBA career in his future, 3point shooters seem to the rage now in NBA.
He's too short to ball in the league.
Really? A lot of NBA players under 6'1". Teams are always looking for great shooters for spreading the court out, I believe he will make it.
Also not good enough, sadly. Do I wish almost all our players had NBA prospects like Kentucky? Sure. But let's not kid ourselves about streaky undersized guards who can't play defense having "NBA career futures". I'm sure Adam will be successful in whatever profession he chooses, but I'm 99% sure it won't be in the NBA.
Edit: This was probably a bit harsh, especially on a Friday. Back to the coffee pot for me
Hey, we are just giving our opinions. You didn't change mine. :-)
Did Seth G. say the same about Stephen Curry?
Yeah, that's the "new" trend...
I wonder what they called it when I was helping MJ win rings.....
I'll just put this here....
I will always remember Bird doing the NBA equivalent of "dropping the mike" when he won the 3-point shooting contest at the All-Star Game without even taking off his warm-ups.
Bird is probably my all time favorite NBA player. Then he actually made the Pacers relevant as a coach in his five year coaching plan.
I remember that. He didn't even wait to see if it went in. He knew as soon as it left his hands. Pretty amazing.
These 3-point shooter examples from the 80s and 90s are awesome! Legs for all contributors!
Do we know what Adam Smith is getting his degree in?