Brett Brown set to become Boomers coach, NZ Breakers issues & LaMelo Ball (again)
November 21, 2019
Matt Smith
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 3/11/79
- Place of Birth: Sale (VIC)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 210
- Weight (KG): 105
- Junior Assoc: VIC - Sale
- College: Fairfield (1998-1999) / Lander (DII) (2000-2003)
- NBL DEBUT: 17/10/99
- AGE AT DEBUT: 19
- LAST NBL GAME: 14/02/09
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 29
- NBL History: Wollongong 2000 | Victoria 2004 | New Zealand 2005 | Cairns 2006-09
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: The Chief
BIO: Matt Smith was born in Sale (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Sale Sonics basketball association.
Smith, whilst still in high school, spent 1996 with the Geelong Supercats as a training player. He attended trainings whilst on school holidays alongside future Taipans teammate Aaron Grabau.
In 1997, whilst completing year 12 he was named as a training player with the North Melbourne Giants, while playing for their development team, the North East Melbourne Arrows.
Smith moved to the US to attend college in 1998.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Matt Smith made his NBL debut with the Wollongong Hawks at 19 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.
In 1996, Smith served as a training player with the Geelong Supercats with an eye to joining the team for the 1997 season. This never eventuated with Geelong exiting the league at the end of 1996. Smith would play DI college basketball with Fairfield the following season.
After a year in college, Smith signed a deal with the Wollongong Hawks where he spent his rookie season. After being seeing their season end after losing four playoff games in a row, Wollongong entered this season looking improve. Clayton Ritter (to Canberra) was not re-signed after the club was able to convince former star Melvin Thomas to return to the club after a four year absence from the club. With coach Brendan Joyce at the helm and star guard CJ Bruton (22.1 points and 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists) controlling the offence, many felt Illawarra would become one of the stronger clubs, but the Hawks just couldn’t seem to get victories over any of the league’s top team’s. The Hawks’ narrative became a view where Bruton was tasked with too much and the Hawks limped home to a eighth-place finish (11-17).
Melvin Thomas (19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals) produced another great season and was named the Hawks co-MVP alongside Glen Saville (14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.9 steals).
Smith appeared in only three games, scoring five points over the course of the season. He was not offered a second contract by the Hawks and returned to the US to play Division II college basketball at Lander University.
VICTORIA GIANTS
2003/04
After his second stint in college, Smith returned to Australia and was offered the last spot on the Victoria Giants playing roster. Again he saw limited opportunities to play and was left without a NBL team when the Giants folded at the end of the season.
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
2004/05
The Breakers entered their second NBL season looking to improve on their tenth-place finish in their first year during their debut season. The Breakers moved Frank Arsego, who had replaced Jeff Green mid-season, into a permanent position as the team’s head coach. The next move was locking in the Breakers’ leading scorer and MVP from the previous season, Mike Chappell, and replacing import Casey Frank with Shawn Redhage, who had been dominating the state league (SEABL).
Ben Melmeth would return to his hometown of Newcastle to play for the Hunter Pirates. He was replaced with fellow Aussie big man Ben Pepper, whose former team, the Victoria Giants, had vacated the league due to financial issues.
To begin the season, Paul Henare was made co-captain, alongside last year’s ‘skipper’ Pero Cameron, and despite falling short in their opening game (a re-match of the team’s first ever game against Adelaide, which they lost 94-106) they started the season by splitting the first games six games and sit within the middle of the were pack with a 3-3 record.
Although Redhage (12.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) made a impressive start to the season, a form slump in November, which saw the team lose six of its seven games, led to Redhage’s court time being reduced and eventually his release after 13 games.
While Redhage would go on to sign with Perth and become one of the NBL’s all-time greats, his replacement came in the form of Marcus Timmons (9.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals). A clear mistake had been made there, however, as shortly after taking the court, it was clear Timmons was no longer the player he was back when he joined the Melbourne Tigers mid-season in 1997 and led them to a championship.
Chappell (18 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) would lead the team in scoring for a second consecutive season, while Aaron Olson would boost his scoring from 10.8 points per game to 15.5 points per game and win the club’s MVP award at the end of the season.
Mid-way through the season Smith was signed as an injury replacement player for Blake Truslove. Smith appeared in only four games and scored a total of eight points before being released prior to the end of the season.
New Zealand recorded 9 wins and 23 losses that season (11th), failing to improve on their debut season.
CAIRNS TAIPANS
2005/06
Smith signed a deal to play with Cairns in 2005 and averaged 2.2 points and 0.9 rebounds as the Taipans finished in fifth place with a 18-14 record.
2006/07
Smith delivered his best season, averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists. The Taipans lacklustre season however, saw them limp home to a sixth place finish (17-16).
2007/08
In 2007/08, Smith averaged 4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.2 assists as the Taipans finished in sixth place with a record of 16-14.
CAIRNS TAIPANS
2008/09
This was a dark period for Cairns started the season in financial strife and by December 2008, saw themselves placed into voluntary administration. As a result, coach Alan Black was sacked and imports Larry Abney and Dave Thomas were let go. The rest of the team had to agree to a blanket 45 percent pay cut for the rest of the season. Less than 12 months later, the Taipans were again in financial trouble – at the time, the club was almost $350,000 over budget and had only recorded a profit in one of the previous four months.
In response, Basketball Australia and Cairns Regional Council vowed to continue supporting the cash-strapped Taipans.
Taipans CEO Mark Beecroft stepped in as head coach for the remainder of the season while Crosswhite finished the season with averages of 11 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Team captain Martin Cattalini (15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists) and Darnell Mee (7.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) led the team that remained against all the odds, and surprisingly, Cairns finished with a reasonable record of 11-19 to end the season.
Matt Smith played seven seasons across four NBL teams. This included the Wollongong Hawks, Victoria Giants, New Zealand Breakers and Cairns Taipans. He averaged 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.1 assists in 116 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 29 | Cairns | 11-19 (9) | 17 | 178.0 | 50 | 63 | 3 | 23 | 40 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 18 | 43 | 42% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 14 | 23 | 61% | 46% | 42% | 10 |
| 2007-08 | 28 | Cairns | 16-14 (6) | 26 | 234.0 | 105 | 61 | 4 | 26 | 35 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 28 | 43 | 76 | 57% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 19 | 29 | 66% | 58% | 57% | 17 |
| 2006-07 | 27 | Cairns | 17-16 (6) | 33 | 351.0 | 167 | 120 | 5 | 50 | 70 | 6 | 27 | 23 | 32 | 67 | 113 | 59% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 33 | 48 | 69% | 61% | 59% | 22 |
| 2005-06 | 26 | Cairns | 18-14 (5) | 17 | 62.0 | 38 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 30 | 57% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 4 | 7 | 57% | 57% | 57% | 9 |
| 2004-05 | 25 | New Zealand | 9-23 (11) | 4 | 16.0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 100% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 2 | 6 | 33% | 68% | 0% | 3 |
| 2003-04 | 24 | Victoria | 11-22 (11) | 16 | 98.0 | 37 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 33 | 52% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 3 | 4 | 75% | 53% | 52% | 10 |
| 1999-00 | 20 | Wollongong | 11-17 (8) | 3 | 5.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 3 | 4 | 75% | 51% | 0% | 3 | Totals | 116 | 944 | 410 | 282 | 15 | 115 | 167 | 15 | 64 | 60 | 107 | 166 | 301 | 55.1% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 78 | 121 | 64.5% | 58% | 55% | 22 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 29 | Cairns | 11-19 (9) | 17 | 10.5 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 42% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.8 | 1.4 | 61% | 46% | 42% | 10 |
| 2007-08 | 28 | Cairns | 16-14 (6) | 26 | 9.0 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 57% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.7 | 1.1 | 66% | 58% | 57% | 17 |
| 2006-07 | 27 | Cairns | 17-16 (6) | 33 | 10.6 | 5.1 | 3.6 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 59% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 1.0 | 1.5 | 69% | 61% | 59% | 22 |
| 2005-06 | 26 | Cairns | 18-14 (5) | 17 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 57% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.2 | 0.4 | 57% | 57% | 57% | 9 |
| 2004-05 | 25 | New Zealand | 9-23 (11) | 4 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 100% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.5 | 1.5 | 33% | 68% | 0% | 3 |
| 2003-04 | 24 | Victoria | 11-22 (11) | 16 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 52% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 0.2 | 0.3 | 75% | 53% | 52% | 10 |
| 1999-00 | 20 | Wollongong | 11-17 (8) | 3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 33% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 1.0 | 1.3 | 75% | 51% | 0% | 3 | Total | 116 | 8.1 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 55.1% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.0 | 64.5% | 58% | 55% | 22 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 22 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- North East Melbourne (1997), Albury Wodonga (2000), Knox (2003), Sandringham (2004–2005), Cairns (2005–2009), Hobart (2009), Cairns (2013–2015, 2018)
Smith joined North East Melbourne for the 1997 state league season, playing with the North East Melbourne Arrows development team while completing year 12 after coming through the Sale Sonics junior pathway.
Smith joined Albury Wodonga for the 2000 SEABL season, adding another senior state league stop after his first college season at Fairfield and before the final stage of his college career at Lander.
Smith joined Knox for the 2003 SEABL season after finishing at Lander, giving the Raiders a frontcourt presence in his return to Australian state league basketball. He appeared in 11 games for Knox and recorded 42 blocked shots, showing the rim protection that became one of the clear statistical markers of that season.
Smith joined Sandringham for the 2004 Big V season, returning to the Victorian state league system with the Sabres and continuing his senior career after the Knox season. The move gave him another local platform before he shifted into a longer run in Queensland state basketball.
Smith remained with Sandringham for the 2005 Big V season, completing a second season with the Sabres before linking with Cairns in the QBL. His Sandringham stint bridged the period between his early SEABL stops and the longer Marlins stretch that followed.
Smith joined Cairns for the 2005 QBL season, beginning a long association with the Marlins in Far North Queensland. The move became the start of his most sustained state league tenure, with Cairns using him as an experienced frontcourt contributor across multiple separate stints.
Smith continued with Cairns through the 2006 QBL season, staying with the Marlins as part of the club’s senior core. His role carried into the next season, when his efficiency around the basket became one of the strongest statistical points of his first Cairns run.
Smith remained with Cairns for the 2007 QBL season and led the league in field goal shooting at 61.6 percent. That season gave the Marlins a highly efficient interior option and marked one of the standout individual numbers from his Queensland state league career.
Smith continued with Cairns for the 2008 QBL season and was still part of the Marlins group during an 86–84 win over UNLV on the visiting college team’s Australian tour. He scored 11 points in that game, giving Cairns frontcourt production against an international touring opponent during the middle of his first Marlins stint.
Smith stayed with Cairns for the 2009 QBL season before also playing for Hobart in the 2009 SEABL season. That year extended his Queensland run and added a Tasmanian state league stop, giving him another SEABL club after earlier spells with Albury Wodonga and Knox.
Smith returned to Cairns for the 2013 QBL season, beginning a second Marlins stint after several seasons away from the club. His return brought another experienced interior player back into the Cairns state league program.
Smith remained with Cairns for the 2014 QBL season as the Marlins finished the regular season at 13–3 and third on the ladder. He led the league in field goal percentage at 65.51 percent, giving Cairns one of the competition’s most efficient scorers around the basket during a finals season.
Smith continued with Cairns for the 2015 QBL season, completing the third year of his second Marlins stint. The season closed another multi-year run with Cairns before he later returned for one more year with the club.
Smith returned to Cairns for the 2018 QBL season, coming out of retirement for one final Marlins campaign. Cairns had finished third the previous year and entered the season with roster changes, with Smith’s return adding a veteran frontcourt presence to the group.
COLLEGE
Smith received a scholarship to play for Fairfield University (CT) during the 1998/99 season, joining a Fairfield team that finished 12-15 overall and 7-11 in MAAC play, including a road loss at No. 1 Duke (66-98) and a road loss at No. 1 Connecticut (67-102) as part of its non-conference schedule.
In that Fairfield season, Smith appeared in 20 games and did not start, totaling 15 points (0.8 points per game) while shooting 6-for-14 from the field (42.9%), going 0-for-0 on three-pointers, and making 3-of-7 free throws (42.9%).
Across those 20 appearances, he recorded 16 total rebounds (0.8 per game), with 5 offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds, along with 0 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 461 total minutes played, as Fairfield’s season results included wins over Long Island (85-60), George Mason (93-91), Boston College (75-70), Central Michigan (86-85), and Loyola (75-69).
Smith was not offered a scholarship for his second season and returned to Australia to play with the Wollongong Hawks.
After a season in the NBL he returned to play Division II college basketball for Lander University (SC) from 2000 to 2003, starting with the 2000-01 season when Lander went 17-10 under head coach Chipper Bagwell before falling to Columbus State (87-67) in the Peach Belt Tournament quarterfinals.
In that 2000-01 season at Lander, Smith played 25 games with 10 starts and logged 461 minutes, scoring 180 points (7.2 per game) on 73-for-142 shooting (51.4%) and 34-of-51 free throws (66.7%), while also collecting 109 rebounds (4.4 per game) and producing 65 blocks, with his season highs including 8 blocks against Newberry and 6 blocks against UNC Pembroke.
In 2001-02, Smith played 14 games with 1 start as Lander went 10-16 and exited the Peach Belt Tournament with a loss to Columbus State (67-87), and individually he totaled 54 points (3.9 per game) on 22-for-44 shooting (50.0%) and 10-of-16 free throws (62.5%), along with 49 rebounds (3.5 per game) and 28 blocks in 183 minutes.
In 2002-03, Smith finished his Lander career as the Bearcats went 7-21 and lost to North Florida (77-68 in overtime) in the Peach Belt Tournament first round, and he was part of a season in which he averaged 2.5 blocks per game and ranked 12th in the Peach Belt Conference in blocks per game, with individual box scores from that year showing an all-around line of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a win over Allen (83-71) and 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks against UNC Pembroke (58-65).
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
Smith was elected a member of the Australian Parliament for the Division of Leichhardt representing the Labor Party after winning the seat in the 2025 federal election.
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