St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Mourns the Loss of William "Beaver" Smith
3/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John’s Athletic Department and the University community mourn the loss of former men’s basketball player William “Beaver” Smith, who passed away on Monday morning.
Memorial services will be held at Freedom Chapel located at 641 Broadway in Amityville, N.Y., on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Smith was a four-year letter winner at St. John’s from 1972-1976 under the tutelage of Frank Mulzoff during his first season before playing his final three years for Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca. A native of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Smith was part of four-straight postseason appearances during his time in Queens, as the Johnnies competed in the NCAA Tournament twice (1973 and 1976) and made a pair of trips to the National Invitation Tournament (1974 and 1975).
Smith came to St. John’s from South Side High School and played in 93 games for the Johnnies. Currently 46th on the program’s all-time scoring list and 18th on the rebounding chart, Smith recorded 1,047 points and grabbed 717 boards during his four-year career.
As a freshman, Smith helped lead the Johnnies to a 19-7 record, rising as high as no. 9 in the AP rankings, and a berth in the 1973 NCAA Tournament. Smith played in all 27 games the following season, averaging 10.9 points and 8.9 rebounds and guiding St. John’s to a 20-7 mark and NIT appearance.
In 1974-75, Smith helped St. John’s advance to the NIT semifinals by averaging 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He played in 30 of 31 contests as the team posted a 21-10 record. As a senior captain in 1975-76, Smith averaged a career-best 13.8 points to go with 7.3 rebounds per contest. St. John’s finished the campaign with a 23-6 overall record, rising as high as no. 9 in the AP poll and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After college, Smith was selected by the New York Knicks in the fifth round of the 1976 NBA Draft.