Position: Point Guard
Hometown: Austin, TX
USF Career Years: 1990–1994
Career Highlights: Four-year letter winner for Men's Basketball; First-team All-WCC (1993 and 1994); 2001 USF Hall of Fame Inductee; WCC Hall of Honor (2019)
Orlando Smart was born on June 19, 1971 in Austin, TX, and attended David Crockett High School. He is best known for his college basketball career playing point guard with the Dons from 1990 to 1994. As a freshman he led the West Coast Conference in both assists and steals. Smart was named to the Freshman All-American teams by Basketball Times and by Basketball Weekly. He broke the previous assist record by NBA All-Star and College All-American Kenny Anderson by averaging 8.2 APG.
In his sophomore year, he was third in the nation in assists at 8.3 APG, and led in steals. As a junior, he led the team in assists and was second behind Gerald Walker in scoring and steals. He ended his Dons career at USF first all-time in assists and steals, and sixth in scoring. Smart started in every one of his 216 games, and compiled over 200 assists per season across four years. He was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 2001, and the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor in 2019. Orlando scored 1,532 points and 902 assists in his USF career. His assist total was a WCC record ranked 14th in NCAA history and his 7.78 APG was tenth all-time in the NCAA.
Why Smart Chose USF:
“Coach Gary Tousdale recruited me, and I felt a connection with him more than any of the other coaches recruiting me. When I came on my recruiting trip, my host was team member Shawn Sykes and we got along great. To top off my trip, Coach Brovelli and Mrs. Brovelli hosted the entire team for dinner, including their children, Michelle Brovelli and my soon-to-be- teammate Mike Brovelli, and I felt the family atmosphere.”
Favorite USF Memories:
“I was excited that they recruited Jason Boyd from San Antonio, along with Tim Owens and Darryl Johnson, both out of Houston. Kevin Weeks was the only California recruit. Those recruits made me feel good because I was coming from Austin. Those teammates along with Wilson Stephens, Alvin Brown, Roy Modkins, Gerald Walker, Kent Bennett, Johnny Duggan, M.J. Nodillo, Scott McWhorter, Tyrone Paul, and others made my time very special. We started off slow my first two seasons. We didn’t have the best team chemistry, but did have excellent talent. My last two seasons on the Hilltop, we saw a change for the better, and started to turn the corner, winning almost 20 games both seasons. Coming from Texas to USF was a life-changing experience that I would not change if given the chance to do it all again.”
The USF-Student Experience:
“Learning and growing up in a school like USF was amazing, especially coming from another part of the country. I met many great people playing the sport I love and living in one of the best parts of the world.”
They Said:
“Orlando was the best point guard that I ever coached. He always had the great ability to make the right decision to the right guy at the right time in critical situations. And he did it in a very unassuming way. Moreover, he was a great team player. His record (on assists) will likely never be broken. As great a player as Orlando was, he’s an even better person,” said former USF Coach Jim Brovelli (USF Athletics).
Life After USF:
Despite his record, he went undrafted in the United States. Smart went on to play professionally in Europe for the Polish team Slask Wroclaw 1994 to 1997, and then for the Austin Cyclones 1997-1998 in the Southwest Basketball League, earning MVP honors. After basketball, he worked in Law Enforcement as a Juvenile Detention Officer, and as an Investigator for the state of Texas. He was a Police Officer in Austin and reached the rank of Sergeant.
