Former Columbia point guard Mike Smith announced on Friday he is transferring to the Michigan Wolverines' basketball program, and will be allowed to play immediately next season for the Maize and Blue as a fifth-year senior.
Smith put up some of the best scoring numbers in the entire country last season for the Lions, and we've decided to take a deeper look at just how impressive his numbers were.
Below is a closer look at the incredible season Michigan's new point guard had in 2019-20, and where many of his statistics stacked up from a conference and national standpoint.
• He scored at least 14 points in every game last season, while pouring in 21 or more in 18 of Columbia's 30 contests. Smith also hit the 30-point plateau five times, highlighted by a season high 38-point performance in a double-overtime loss to Harvard on Feb. 15.
• His 22.8 points per game last season were the sixth most in the entire country, and were 5.1 more than any other player averaged in the Ivy League (Brown’s Brandon Anderson checked in second with 17.7).
• Smith's 250 total made field goals on the year were tied for the seventh most in the nation. To compare, senior point guard Zavier Simpson led Michigan with 151 made buckets. Smith hit at least 14 shots in a single game three different times, including a 17-field goal performance in the aforementioned double overtime loss to Harvard on Feb. 15.
• He was incredibly durable as well in 2019-20, playing at least 26 minutes in every game and a minimum of 37 minutes in 24 of Columbia's 30 outings. Smith's season high in minutes was 49 in the double-overtime loss to the Crimson.
• His 4.5 assists per game last year were the second most in the Ivy League, behind only Penn forward A.J. Brodeur's 5.2. Smith also handed out seven or more assists eight times, matching his season high of nine twice (in a Feb. 1 loss to Brown and a Nov. 13 win over Binghamton).
• Smith's 62 three-pointers made were the second most in the Ivy League, behind only Yale guard Azar Swain's 93. In comparison, junior guard Eli Brooks led the Maize and Blue in triples in 2019-20, with 52.
• His 81.3 free throw percentage was the fourth best in the Ivy League, trailing Brown guard Zach Hunsaker's 85.7, Swain's 82.2 and Anderson's 82.1. One of Smith's notable performances from the charity stripe occurred in a Dec. 30 loss to Albany, when he connected on 14 of his 16 attempts (87.5 percent).
• Smith's 1.5 steals per game were tied for the third most in the Ivy League, with the 5-11, 180-pounder turning in two four-steal performances (in a Feb. 9 loss to Princeton and a March 7 setback at Penn). The only two Ivy League players who averaged more steals per game than Smith were Anderson and Penn guard Devon Goodman (each tallied 1.6).
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