Arizona Basketball: Always a Wildcat for life, thank you Dylan Smith!

Arizona Basketball senior Dylan Smith had so much more to show the world in March before having to think of his next step, but things changed.

Arizona Basketball senior combo guard Dylan Smith‘s season came to a screeching halt on Thursday when the Pac-12 canceled the remainder of the Tournament, just as the doors of my Southwest jet closed shut.

I was so looking forward to sitting court side to watch the Wildcats compete for the Pac-12 Tournament. The team found their groove and were on a positive upswing coming into Thursday’s quarterfinals. Quite possibly, Arizona could have taken on their rival ASU Sun Devils in the Finals, and become Champions. As it turns out, Bracketologist Warren Nolan agreed with my prediction.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

You hate to see the post-season for the Wildcats cut short, but you especially hate to see it for the seniors like Smith, Chase Jeter and Stone Gettings, both clutch players for the Cats this season.

That said, they went out on a high note. Smith was clutch, making all six free-throws, scoring 14 points total, grabbing four rebounds and dishing six assists in a first-round Pac-12 tournament win against the Huskies.

When Smith’s shots aren’t going in, he doesn’t fold, he makes up for it in defense and facilitating. He is a glue guy on the court. While folks may not have noticed this during the season, they certainly did see it in his last two games.

Smith channeled his best Kobe Bryant performance against the Huskies at McKale on Senior night, his last game in Tucson. Elbowed in the face early in the game, Dylan came out of the locker room with ice on his nose. His family pleaded with him to stay in the locker room, but Smith would have none of that. Instead, he had the trainer plug his bloody, broken nose with cotton and went back on the court to try and win the game. A Wildcat to the core, there is so much fight in him.

Most of us would be in excruciating pain to the point of wanting to probably be knocked out, but not Smith. The game was going south when he was out, it was clear there was no chance the Wildcats were going to win, missing so many shots and turning over the ball.

But then Smith came back and made SIX three-pointers (60% from three, 55% FG), SIX! He kept the Cats in the game scoring 19 points, more than any other Cat on the court. Who does that? Wildcat, Dylan Smith does, our Red & Blue Mamba!

“This kid broke his nose, got his nose smashed, and played…and was the reason we had a chance,” said Miller after the game.

This past season, Smith started in all 32 games. As you can see, his stat average got better each season hitting all stat columns including blocks and steals.

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 3/15/2020.

Head Coach Sean Miller always had nice things to say about Dylan, he is fully supportive of his dreams to play professionally moving forward. Just listen to this conversation between Smith and his mentor discussing Dylan’s game. Miller never faltered, he played Dylan and knew what he brought to the team.

It’s the things you may not see as media or a fan, those things only a coach knows. Fans can be nasty, as well as media at times. Most of the time Smith ignored it all and just kept playing his game while improving all the while. But once he clapped back at a reporter and it was delicious. Mostly because that reporter had spent many games trashing Dylan which was teetering on shameful a fueling fans. Happy this Wildcat got the last laugh, he ended up playing really well by the way.

https://twitter.com/ynbm31/status/1218652907312054273?s=20

Towards the end of the season, fans and media were a lot kinder to Smith as well they should be, that is what helps the players play better. The Smith family is very grateful and passed along this sentiment:

“Thank you to UA from our family! It’s been an amazing journey. We are grateful for all of the experiences the highs and the lows! It’s all made Dylan the strong and confident young man he is today! We are excited about the future and know that we are proud to say that we will always be a Wildcat Family! Lastly, thank you to coach Miller for giving Dylan this opportunity to come to UA! We appreciate the entire Men’s Basketball staff for taking care of Dylan for the last four years! 🐻⬇️❤️”

Site Expert David Rosen had some very nice words for Smith:

“The three years Dylan Smith played at Arizona, he certainly had his ups and downs. At the end of the day though, he stayed all the way to his senior year and played a crucial role during the 2019-20 season. He did face his share of criticism, but that didn’t stop him from being one of the Wildcats key defenders and shooting guards. His experience and willingness to provide the Wildcats with a key two or three-point shot or step up on the defensive end will be missed.”

So did Site Expert Eric Townsend:

“I think Dylan doesn’t get enough credit. In a day and age where kids have endless options to leave school, transfer, etc., Dylan was a rarity in that he stayed four years (including transfer year), competed night in and night out. While he may not have been a highly touted superstar, he was the type of high-level contributor and basketball player that you could ever wish for in a college basketball player, and he will be sorely missed. When all is said and done; we should ALL be thankful for his contributions here and I wish him continued success in his life past the University of Arizona.”

Arizona Student Information Director Daniel Berk:

And, former teammates and now New York Knicks guard Allonzo Trier:

Since the first time I watched Dylan play, I understood what he brings to the table. A lot of what he brings does not end up in the stats, what I call hustle, heart, fearlessness, and a never give up Stick-to-it-iveness attitude.

On top of that, Smith consistently displays a professional demeanor and is great at dealing with the press and being interviewed. Not once was Dylan in trouble for breaking rules, he was never suspended nor was he “Out for personal reasons.” He kept up his grades and walks away with a degree and a ton of basketball experience.

At 6-foot-5 and 22 years old, he fits the NBA’s profile for players to hire with athletic ability and potential. With his poise and success, there’s nothing you can really point to except being more consistent. That will come with the right training, agent, and management team behind him. With the NBA, G-League and International leagues, it is all about potential, train-ability, personality and attitude along with relationships. With Sean Miller’s support, he can go a long way.

If you were one of the five lucky fans, you were able to play craps with Smith in the New York New York casino where he walked away a big winner. And that’s how we will remember Smith at the UofA and that’s what will give him a solid chance to make it in the pros at home or abroad just as long as he’s playing and entertaining fans, he will be happy. And so will we. A huge Thank You to Dylan Smith, a Wildcat for life. Bear down!