bryan smithson biography

Bryan Smithson
Basketball
and Biography

Bryan Smithson was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 18, 1985. The son of Diana Miller and Les Smithson,
Bryan is the youngest of three children. His sister Melissa graduated from Arizona State University, and his brother
Jason attended Coastal Georgia College in Brunswick, playing basketball at the junior college level.
In 1996, just prior to entering the 6th grade, Bryan’s family moved to Kennesaw, Georgia. While in the 6th grade, Bryan
tried out for, and made, the 7th grade team. The coach of the 7th grade team, Coach Gary Graham, was also the coach
of the AAU team the Smyrna Stars. Coach Graham was so impressed with Bryan’s ability to shoot the ball that he invited
Bryan to try out with the Smyrna Stars. Bryan made the AAU team and, from that moment until the end of high school,
Coach Graham advised him.
In 1999, when Bryan was 14 and just entering high school, his parents divorced. With his sister away at college and his
brother living with their mother in a nearby apartment, Bryan chose to stay with his father. Feeling isolated and alone,
Bryan threw himself into his basketball with even greater passion and determination. Coach Graham helped Bryan to
channel his emotions in such a way as to fuel his fire on the basketball court. Bryan played on the Smyrna Stars from
6th grade until the end of his junior year at North Cobb High School . Several other AAU teams, such as the Georgia
Stars and the Atlanta Celtics, tried to sway Bryan to transfer to their AAU team; but, out of loyalty to his coach and to the
team, Bryan remained a Smyrna Star.
During his sophomore year, Bryan found himself more and more alone, both emotionally and physically, as the gulf
between him and his father widened. Six months after his parents’ divorce, Bryan moved in with his mother. Together,
Bryan and his mother would face many harsh obstacles, mostly financial, which would worsen over time.
In 2001, Bryan began his junior year of high school. With no financial assistance at all, Bryan’s mother was forced to
work two full-time jobs in an effort to pay the bills and put as much food on the table as their money would allow. Once
more, Bryan found himself coming home to an empty apartment. His mother would arrive home from work late and at
various times, but always in the evenings -- and always to the sight of Bryan playing basketball. This was the only
constant in both their lives.
The times that food was scarce, and Bryan’s mother strained to pay both rent and utilities, grew increasingly more
frequent. In September 2002, the temperature outside soared to a searing 100 degrees, and Bryan came home to find
his mother, who had just undergone major surgery, lying on the couch, in total darkness, stricken by the oppressive heat
and humidity. The power, it turned out, had been cut off -- and there was nothing, at that time, that Bryan or his mother
could do about it.
In spite of the hardships he endured, Bryan managed to stay focused athletically. He was a good student, and he
always tried to uplift his mother’s spirits with his wonderful sense of humor. Acutely aware of her son’s emotional pain
and internal struggles, Bryan’s mother remained strong and she supported Bryan in all that he did.
After a great basketball season his junior year and a highly successful summer with the Smyrna Stars, Bryan received a
deluge of recruiting calls and letters from several Division I Conferences (ACC, WAC, BIG 10, SUNBELT, SoConn,
ASUN). In the fall of his senior year in high school, Bryan decided to play at the Mid-Major level, giving a verbal
commitment to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in the Sunbelt Conference.
Bryan received many accolades his senior year. He currently holds the single highest scoring record at North Cobb High
School. Other honors included being ranked among the Top 200 Senior Basketball Players in the Nation, receiving All
American Honorable Mention, being selected to play in the Georgia All Star Game, being selected to play in the Georgia-
Florida All Star Game, receiving the Atlanta Tip Off Club Honors many times over, and being repeatedly named Cobb
County Player of the Month.
Throughout his senior year, Bryan faced such in-region foes as Jermareo Davidson (Charlotte Bobcats), Tim Morris
(Washington University), Morris Almond (Utah Jazz), Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks), and Patrick Ewing, Jr. (Georgetown).
Bryan also faced several in-state foes, such as Louis Williams (Philadelphia 76ers) and Michael Mercer (Georgia
Bulldogs), as well as many other highly touted players. Bryan enjoyed a very successful 2002-2003 season, as he led
the entire Region 5AAAAA in scoring at 23ppg. Bryan played alongside most of the above-mentioned players, almost all
of whom had played, at one time or another, for the Smyrna Stars.
Bryan graduated high school in May 2003, and shortly afterwards left for Middle Tennessee to begin training with the
team. In college, as in high school, basketball remained Bryan’s outlet for problems at home. Following an excellent
freshman season, Bryan concluded his first year at MTSU with a nomination as Sunbelt Conference Freshman of the
Year, and finishing as the runner up, leading all Conference freshmen in assists, assist/turnover ratio, steals, and free-
throw percentage.
Bryan was explosive at the start of his sophomore season, but he soon suffered a major setback, as conflicts surfaced
between him and his coaches, while his problems at home continued to linger. By season’s end, Bryan determined it
would be best for his career to depart MTSU and search for another basketball program. With his mother’s assistance,
Bryan succeeded in getting his name back out there, so that he could then begin the requisite recruiting process all over
again.
In choosing a new college, Bryan had several options, one of which was UNC Asheville. After spending a weekend with
the UNC Asheville coaching staff, Bryan felt he had found a home. Although NCAA rules required Bryan to sit out for
one year, due to transferring between two Division I institutions, Bryan continued to work out, both with the team and on
his own, until the start of the 2006-2007 season. In his first game of the season, Bryan scored 25 points and helped
Asheville to win their first season opener in five years. Bryan continued the season by scoring 20+ points in more than
five games and playing against such worthy opponents as UNC, Charlotte, and Winthrop.
Despite his many accomplishments -- and regardless of the fact that fans from the opposing schools were constantly
curious as to who Bryan was -- he continued to fly under the radar. Bryan ended his 2006-2007 season, however, as
UNC Asheville’s Player of The Year.
In anticipation of a special 2007-2008 senior season, Bryan spent six weeks, during the summer, training at Joe
Abunassar’s AIB facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. Working with Joe enabled Bryan to further hone his special skills, and to
take his game to the next level. At AIB, Bryan played with NBA professionals Sebastian Telfair (Timberwolves), Al
Harrington (Golden State Warriors), and Tayshaun Prince (Pistons), among many other NBA players.
Bryan is currently in his senior year at UNC Asheville. As the 2007-2008 season approaches, Bryan’s demanding
schedule includes some rigorous training sessions with Dan Barto, at IMG, in Florida.
Throughout Bryan’s years of playing basketball, there have been many who stepped in his way, but there have been
many more who stood by him. Bryan’s career has been a difficult one, with personal as well as professional struggles,
both on and off the basketball court. But today -- in the words of both NBA players and professional
trainers -- Bryan is an “exciting,” “explosive,” and “amazing” player.

                                                                                         -Compiled and Written by Anne Leventhal Fonseca

"Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around
and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

--Michael Jordan

Univ. of North Carolina
Asheville
Head Coach

Eddie Biedenbach
(left)

SMYRNA STARS
Head Coach and
Founder

Gary Graham

NORTH COBB HIGH
SCHOOL
Varsity Head Coach

Terry Gorsuch

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE
UNIVERSITY
Head Coach

Kermit Davis