SG Katie Smith (All B1G, B1G Champion, OSU HOF, Asst. Coach Minnesota Lynx)

[Buckskin86]

Ex-Buckeye Smith becomes third WNBA player with 5,000 points
Monday, September 1, 2008

Detroit's Katie Smith scored 23 points in an 82-81 overtime loss to the Chicago Sky to become the third player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points.

Smith, a former Ohio State standout, has 5,022 points, trailing only Lisa Leslie (5,853) and Tina Thompson (5,281) on the all-time scoring list.

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Ex-Buckeye Smith becomes third WNBA player with 5,000 points

 

[Born Buckeye]

Awesome to see that Katie is still blowing up the WNBA and letting everyone else know that she is one of the best womens hoops players of all time - something Buckeye fans already knew..

"SAN ANTONIO -- Someone finally figured out how to stop Deanna Nolan. Katie Smith and Taj McWilliams-Franklin were more than enough to help the Detroit Shock make up for it......." Cont'd below.

Link

:osu:

 

[muffler dragon]

Wonderful Lady.

Katie is truely one hell of an athlete. We both graduated from Logan in 1992. Katie and I actually played on the "Bobcats" basketball team in 5th and 6th grade. She was the first girl to ever play in the boys league. We all thought it was bull[censored]. It wasn't long before she was kicking all of our ass's, even then.

Her dad (John) is also my dentist. I recently saw him and he told me that both of Katie's knee's are shot. He says that too much more and she will hardly be able to walk.

Anyway, congrats to Katie. I am not a fan of womens basketball, but she had far more game than me........

Yea, that is Tommy. He is a good kid. She also has an older brother named John jr. who may be a doctor too.

I met Katie my sophomore and junior years at Marietta High. Competed against her brother in basketball and track, and Katie was on the track team as well. If I'm not mistaken, the SEOAL track meet was at Logan. Always one long as ride on a school bus out to there.

Very nice people. I was always amazed at how humble she was for the level of athletic talent she had.

 

[osugrad21]

Link

At 34, Katie Smith still force for Shock

Rings up big minutes, points in Game 1 win

BY CHRIS LAU ? FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER ? October 3, 2008

SAN ANTONIO -- In Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the San Antonio Silver Stars on Wednesday night, the Shock played its third game in four days. Small forward Katie Smith played all 40 minutes after playing 36 and 37 minutes in the previous two games.
Smith, 34, scored a career playoff-high 25 points.
"Deanna Nolan is a bionic, so she can play forever," coach Bill Laimbeer said of his 29-year-old shooting guard, who also played 40 minutes on Wednesday. "Smith is a little different. Smith wills herself to play for that long, and her workout routine -- both in the off-season and during the season -- is second to none from what I've seen in any athlete, whether it's male or female."
Smith, the Shock's third-oldest player, and power forward Taj McWilliams-Franklin, the team's oldest player, carried the Shock offensively in Game 1. McWilliams-Franklin, who turns 38 this month, scored 24 points in 32 minutes.
Laimbeer, however, isn't worried about wearing out what he called his "oldies but goodies."
Cont...

 

[UpNorthBuckeye]

Congratulations, Katie, on sweeping San Antonio and winning another WNBA championship (to go with your gold medal) and being named finals MVP!!!

You just keep getting better!

Went and saw the Shock last week in the Eastern Conference finals. Good basketball, decent crowd, lots of fun.

Way to step up, Katie!

 

[osugrad21]

Link

Title, finals MVP put cap on Smith's golden season: Ex-OSU standout also won her third Olympic championship

Wed. October 08, 2008; Posted: 04:11 AM
Oct 08, 2008 (The Columbus Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Katie Smith was on the move again yesterday, which seemed almost second nature even if she did have a steering wheel in her hands instead of a basketball
"It has been a whirlwind," said Smith, who won the most valuable player award of the WNBA championship finals by leading the Detroit Shock to a three-game sweep of the San Antonio Silver Stars. "I'm driving home to Columbus right now. It has been a wild and crazy summer."
At 34, the greatest women's basketball player in the history of Ohio State experienced the greatest team season of her post-collegiate career.
Besides winning a second WNBA championship with the Shock, Smith also picked up a third Olympic gold medal as a starting guard for Team USA in Beijing.
"It is definitely one of the best years I've had," Smith said. "I feel like I was at the top of my game. I feel like I contributed in the Olympics. I did what I needed to do to help that team win.
"In the WNBA, I felt like I was solid. Sometimes that was scoring. Sometimes it wasn't. It's doing the part that you are required to do. That's what I felt I did."

Cont...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Katie Smith meets the Buckeyes

One last throwaway moment from media day. Katie Smith returned to Columbus from Detroit last week with a WNBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in her duffle bag
.
Katie told me that she intended to take some time off from basketball but probably would look in on the 2008-09 edition of the Buckeyes. Apparently she did a little more than look. She joined a pick-up game with the players. OSU coach Jim Foster later asked for her opinion of the group.


Continued...............

 

[crazybuckfan40]

She is around alot so this is not a new thing...She was at at least 8-10 games last year...

 

[Mike80]

Congrats to Katie Smith in graduation Cum Laude and receiving her diploma today as well...

 

[RLC65]

Katie is the first player to cause me to root for a Michigan based team since Dick Lebeau and Hop Cassady made me Lions fans for a while 40-50 years ago.

She is without question the only pro basketall player that I pay the slightest attention to. I hope her apparently bad knees let her play another year or two with the Shock.

Go Bucks!

 

[BB73]

Congrats to Katie for being named USA Basketball Female Athelete of the Year.

dispatch

Former OSU standout Smith earns top honor

Former Ohio State and Columbus Quest standout Katie Smith, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and co-captain of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that captured a fourth straight gold, has been selected as USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. As such, Smith will be nominated for the U.S. Olympic Committee Sportswoman of the Year.


"This is a huge honor, it's a surprise to me, but it's very much appreciated," Smith said. "There are so many bigger names, like Diana (Taurasi), Lisa (Leslie) winning her fourth gold, Tina (Thompson) putting up big numbers. ... it's not that we're not equal as players on the team, but in my career this kind of thing hasn't happened a whole lot."

Cont'd ...

 

[BB73]

Katie visited the White House with the Detroit Shock.

Note - this is not the political board.

wnba.com

http://www.wnba.com/shock/photogallery/whitehouse_090727_2.html
http://www.wnba.com/shock/photogallery/whitehouse_090727_4.html

President Barack Obama is presented with a basketball by Detroit Shock forward and team captain Cheryl Ford and a jersey by guard Katie Smith.
Allen Einstein (NBAE/Getty)

 

[Buckskin86]

Originally Published: December 3, 2009
Smith won't follow Shock to Tulsa
If ailing back gets better, Smith hopes to play one or two more seasons in WNBA
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com

DURHAM, N.C. -- Katie Smith watched her alma mater Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, wearing an Ohio State Buckeyes T-shirt. She viewed their game against Duke with a keen eye, noticing potential mismatches and interesting one-on-one battles away from the ball.

Katie Smith
Allen Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images Katie Smith's 11 WNBA seasons include the last five with Detroit, where she was part of two league titles and was the 2008 WNBA Finals MVP.

Sometimes Smith, who led the Buckeyes to the 1993 Final Four and spent two years at Ohio State more recently working as a graduate assistant, thinks coaching might appeal to her. Other times, she's not sure. Her next career after playing -- she has always talked about potentially following her father as a dentist -- is not something she has nailed down yet.

But she is certain of this: Her days with the former Detroit Shock are over. Smith will not stay with the franchise as it moves to Tulsa for next season. She said Thursday that as a free agent, she plans on signing with another team.

If, that is, her back is healthy enough for her to compete by the start of the 2010 season. If it isn't, she likely will retire.

"I'm excited that Tulsa is a city that wants a team," Smith said. "I wish them great success, and I really hope it goes well and the people there love it. I have nothing at all against Tulsa. I just decided it's not the place I want to finish my career.

"Most of my [Shock] teammates will be there, and it's going to be hard because I'm going to miss them a ton. I wish I could take them all with me. But everything changes eventually."

Katie Smith won't follow the former Detroit Shock franchise to Tulsa - ESPN

 

[Buckskin86]

Katie Smith Signs With Mystics
March 16, 2010 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Washington Mystics

Washington MysticsWashington, D.C- Washington Mystics Vice President and General Manager Angela Taylor announced today that three-time Olympian and perennial all-star guard, Katie Smith has signed with the team.

"This is a very exciting day for the Washington Mystics organization. Katie Smith is the most prolific scorer in U.S. professional women's basketball history and will bring invaluable experience and competitiveness to our roster," stated Taylor. "She has been a huge success everywhere she's been and as we look to make our vision of bringing a WNBA Championship to Washington, DC a reality. We are ecstatic that someone with Katie's pedigree is looking forward to being part of our championship journey."

An 11-year WNBA veteran, Smith started her professional basketball career in 1997 with the Columbus Quest of the American Basketball League (ABL). She helped lead her team to an ABL Championship in 1998. In two seasons, she made consecutive all-star appearances and in 1998 she was named to the All-ABL First Team.

Smith joined the WNBA in 1999 when she was assigned to the Minnesota Lynx. During her time with the Lynx, Smith set numerous scoring records such as the then WNBA single-season records for scoring average (23.1) and points (739), and three-point field goal attempts (240). In 2002, she led the Lynx in minutes played, field goals (162) and field goal attempts (401). Smith and the Lynx earned a post season berth in 2003 before losing to eventual WNBA Champions, Los Angeles Sparks. Smith has the distinction of setting a WNBA record for total regular season games played (36) when she was traded from the Minnesota Lynx (23) to the Detroit Shock (13) in 2005.

As a guard with Detroit, Smith set a Shock franchise record for most three-point field goals made (55) and attempted (155) in a season. She helped Detroit earn a second WNBA Championship by leading the team during the playoffs in assists (40), three pointers made (20) and three pointers attempted (50) and finishing second on the team in scoring (14.7). In 2007, Smith became the first woman to score 6,000 points in professional basketball. She currently is the all-time leading scorer in American women's professional basketball history with 6,879. In 2008, the Shock earned another WNBA Championship with Smith leading the way with 21.7 points per game during the Finals series. She was named the 2008 Finals MVP. In a career that spans over a decade, Smith averages include 15.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game.

A three time Olympian, Smith was a member of three USA Basketball Women's National teams that captured gold medals in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She was named the USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2008. A graduate of the Ohio State University, Smith was the 1996 Big Ten Player of the Year.

"I am really excited to be joining the Washington Mystics who are hungry for a championship. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the ownership group, coaches and staff and I feel that the transition will be a smooth one," said Smith. "I also look forward to playing in front of some of the best fans of the WNBA."

Katie Smith Signs With Mystics - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News

 

[Buckskin86]

WNBA spotlight: Mystics guard Katie Smith brings her 'A' game
By Ellen J. Horrow, USA TODAY

By Ned Dishman, NBAE/Getty Images
Guard Katie Smith, one of the most prolific scorers in WNBA history, brings her all-around game to Washington this season. "I don't feel like I have to put it all on my shoulders and score 20 a night," Smith said. "I feel like I have to do my part and be ready every night and do what is asked."

Three-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time All-Star Katie Smith is set to tip off her 12th WNBA season Saturday when her Washington Mystics face the defending Eastern Conference champion Indiana Fever.

Smith, who won two WNBA championships with the Detroit Shock and is the all-time leading scorer in American women's professional basketball history with 6,879 career points, talked to USA TODAY's Ellen J. Horrow about the Mystics, her future and reality TV.

USA TODAY: You were hampered by back pain that forced you to miss the 2009 playoffs. Is that all cleared up and are you good to go?

Katie Smith: I had a herniated disc and I had some numbness and weakness in my leg. Obviously I couldn't quite get out there with everybody. It took a long time. It was a slow process, but I did get to go overseas. I've been feeling really good, and I've worked hard at strengthening and whatnot. On top of that, the body just had to kind of heal itself when it came to the nerve damage. But I feel good and I'm ready to roll.

GALLERY: Images from all 13 WNBA championship teams

USA TODAY: For the first time in your illustrious career, you were an unrestricted free agent and had the opportunity to sign with any team in the league. Why the Washington Mystics?

USA TODAY: You are an Ohio State graduate. Which Buckeyes team wins a national championship next: football, men's basketball or women's basketball?

Katie Smith: Evan Turner just left but they're getting some good ones, so I'd have to go with men's basketball. I'd like to say women's but I'm not too sure, so I'm going to go with the men's.

WNBA spotlight: Mystics guard Katie Smith brings her 'A' game - USATODAY.com