Michael Hickey/Getty Images(INDIANAPOLIS) — A Butler basketball alum who helped to lead two teams to national title games, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer at the age of 25. Former Butler center Andrew Smith’s wife Samantha confirmed his death in a tweet Tuesday.
“Andrew peacefully passed away in his sleep in my arms as I told him I love him this morning,” she tweeted.
Andrew peacefully passed away in his sleep and in my arms as I told him I loved him this morning. Love you always, Smith.
— Samantha Smith (@Samantha44Smith) January 12, 2016
As a freshmen, Smith was a reserve on Butler’s 2010 team. He then when on to start as a sophomore the following year, averaging 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, according to ESPN. Smith would play two more seasons at Butler, before heading to play professionally in Lithuania. He returned to Indiana in 2013.
Receiving a diagnosis in January 2014, Smith battled with non-Hodgkin lymphoma for the past two years. Though he appeared to be recovering, Smith experienced setbacks later in the year, including a failed bone marrow transplant that turned into leukemia.
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who was Smith’s former college coach skipped Boston’s Thursday game in Chicago to visit Smith in the hospital in Indianapolis, ESPN reports. He tweeted his reaction to Smith’s death on Tuesday.
“To the toughest guy I ever met – Thank you, Andrew,” he tweeted. “We love you and will always be inspired by you.”
To the toughest guy I ever met – Thank you, Andrew. We love you and will always be inspired by you.
— Brad Stevens (@BCCoachStevens) January 12, 2016
Stevens spoke more about Smith to reporters ahead of the Celtics’ game against the New York Knicks.
“The last week’s been tough,” Stevens said. “I was happy that I got a chance to say goodbye. And this is really about, when you coach somebody, you get a lot more out of coaching them than they do from you. And that’s that. I could go on and on, and it wouldn’t do him justice.”
“[Smith] was special. He was tough,” he continued. “He set a great example.”
Before a matchup against Phoenix, the Indiana Pacers held a moment of silence in tribute to Smith.
#Pacers fans embrace a moment of silence for Andrew Smith before tonight’s game. #AndrewSmithStrong pic.twitter.com/gDXA3Osqin
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 13, 2016
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