Andrew Smith, former Butler Basketball star, has passed away at age 25 following a battle with cancer. His wife, Samantha Smith, Tweeted the tragic news, “Andrew peacefully passed away in his sleep and in my arms as I told him I loved him this morning. Love you always, Smith.”
Smith last played for Neptūnas in Lithuania before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in January 2014. Previously, he played in two NCAA Final Fours during his career at Butler.
Smith’s basketball career prematurely ended, at least for the time being, in January 2014. After noticing a suspicious bump on his neck, he began having increasing difficulty breathing. Initially, he was determined to not have cancer, but a later MRI scan revealed a suspected cancerous tumor in one of his lungs, and he returned to the U.S. Doctors in Indianapolis initially determined he was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and soon made a more specific diagnosis of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. This type of cancer, normally found in children, has a 50-50 survival rate for that age group, but is less survivable for adults. He immediately went on a chemotherapy regimen that had to be specially calibrated for his unusually large frame. While undergoing treatment, he took a job with a leasing and financing company owned by family friends.
On July 31, 2014, on his third day on the job, Smith collapsed at his office in a building next to Indianapolis International Airport and went into cardiac arrest for more than 22 minutes before being revived and rushed to a nearby hospital. He was immediately placed into a medically induced coma, and awoke four days later. While doctors would not officially link the cardiac arrest with his cancer battle, both Smith’s wife and father believe the two were related. By December of that year, he had completed his final chemotherapy treatment, and is currently undergoing what is called “maintenance” treatment, in which he continues to take several medications. While he has yet to fully regain his strength, he has not suffered any apparent neurological damage from his prolonged cardiac arrest. In a 2015 article on Smith’s struggles, CBS Sports journalist Matt Norlander said, “The fact Andrew left the hospital with full control of his faculties barely a week later — and has not suffered any setbacks — is supernatural.”
Smith grew up in the Indianapolis, Indiana, area. He attended Covenant Christian High School where he became a star basketball player.
