Something is missing: Columnist says number 30 will be missed

By Andrew Neumann
Collegian Staff
November 15, 2006

Saturday at about 12:45 p.m., the La Salle Explorers will head onto the floor at the Tom Gola Arena for the first time this season.

They’ll be wearing the same uniforms. Coach John Giannini will walk the same stoic walk out of the locker room. The same pre-game music will play over the loudspeaker.

But nothing will be the same.

The reason for this is that when the Explorers’ starting lineups are announced, “At forward, number 30, Steven Smith” will be conspicuously absent.

Smith, one of La Salle’s greatest basketball players of all time, completed his sterling career last year. His last game in front of the Tom Gola faithful was perhaps his best. On March 4 against St. Louis, Smith tallied 26 points and 14 rebounds without a single turnover to send the Explorers to the A-10 tournament as the three seed.

He would play his last game as an Explorer five days later, as La Salle lost to Fordham in the second round.

A lot of columnists would find this the appropriate time to list Smith’s career statistics. However, to me, the legacy of Smith cannot be summed up by digits.

In the summer of 2004, a rape allegation scandal shocked the basketball team. Three players had to leave the team, while another decided to transfer away from the mess. Smith could have transferred also. He chose not to.

After that season, in which Smith took an Explorer team with only seven scholarship players to the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament, Smith could easily have entered the NBA Draft. Again, he chose not to.

Smith is a Philadelphia 76er now, probably headed for the NBA’s Developmental League. Whatever happens from here on out, La Salle and its fans will always owe him a debt of gratitude.

I would like to share my personal favorite memory of Smith’s Explorer career. On Nov. 4, 2004, the 0-2 Explorers played the USC Trojans. Still reeling from the previous summer’s scandal, Explorer fans needed something to feel good about.

Smith took the team on his back, scoring 27 points and playing every second of the game. The Explorers won, 71-62. It was only the second La Salle game I had ever seen, and it finally gave Explorer fans something to feel good about after six months of national scrutiny.

neumanna1@lasalle.edu