Andrew Smith, former Butler basketball player, dead at 25

Former Butler University basketball player Andrew Smith died Tuesday, his wife Samantha Smith announced.

Despite the fact that he died at just 25 – it feels so wrong just to type those words – he was blessed to have found his soulmate.

Like a lot of Duke fans, we’re guessing, we feel a certain bond with Butler after the incredible 2010 title game. Following chemo treatment, he went to work for a financial company, but he went into cardiac arrest shortly thereafter and ended up back in the hospital.

“The Butler community is profoundly sad today with the news of Andrew’s passing”, Butler president James Danko and athletic director Barry Collier said in a joint statement released by the school. “But the last two years, he’s been through a lot”.

“He represented the best of Butler in the classroom and on the court”, it continued.

Andrew Smith led Butler in rebounds and was second in scoring his senior season. But that’s what we always saw from Andrew.

Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel noted in a separate post that, according to Samantha, Stevens called or texted Andrew Smith more than anyone outside of his family. He was a freshman reserve in 2010 when the Bulldogs lost a classic final to Duke, and he averaged 8.5 points a game for the club that lost to UConn.

Smith’s wife tweeted yesterday that he had succumbed to aggressive leukemia. He gave his all, all the time. He tweeted his reaction to Smith’s death on Tuesday.

“I was happy that I got the chance to say goodbye”, Stevens said in an emotional press conference. “I’m glad I went”. Smith had a bone marrow transplant last November and was still attending Butler games up until weeks ago.

“What made Andrew special was the way that he genuinely cared for others”, they said.

In a statement, Butler praised Andrew for his fighting spirit, saying that “within his large frame was an even larger heart”. He is survived by his wife, Samantha; his father, Curt; his mother, Debbie; and three siblings.