Andrew Smith, a key player in Butler's back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances, has died of cancer at age 25.
His wife, Samantha, announced his passing Tuesday. She had chronicled her husband's struggle with the disease on a blog, pouring out her hope or anguish with each twist and turn in his fight.
Samantha Smith @Samantha44Smith
Andrew peacefully passed away in his sleep and in my arms as I told him I loved him this morning. Love you always, Smith.
<time class="dt-updated" datetime="2016-01-12T21:17:12+0000" pubdate="" title="Time posted: 12 Jan 2016, 21:17:12 (UTC)">4:17 PM - 12 Jan 2016</time> · Indianapolis, IN, United States
Smith was initially diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in February 2014 while playing professionally in Lithuania. Doctors believed they had eradicated the disease but he suffered a relapse last spring, setting the stage for a last-ditch bone marrow transplant.
That procedure took place Nov. 6, and Smith finally was allowed to return home in December after a 33-day hospital stay. But his wife noticed the day he came home that "something just wasn't quite right" and took him back to the hospital for further testing. The results revealed the disease had transformed to leukemia.
"This means it is no longer a targeted mass that we can treat, it is now running through the veins of his entire body in his blood," Samantha wrote on Dec. 7. "I won’t mince words; this is very, very bad news. We are worried. We are scared. We are devastated."
She wrote then that doctors had essentially exhausted all treatment options for Smith and repeated that in a post Sunday that said doctors had told her that her husband's death was "imminent."
Smith grew up in the Indianapolis area and played center for Butler from 2010-13. The Bulldogs went 33-5 his freshman season, losing to Duke before what amounted to a home crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 6-11 Smith was a reserve that season but moved into a starting role as a sophomore, helping lead the Bulldogs back to the title game. He had five points and nine rebounds in the championship-game loss to Connecticut. He went on to average 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior before attempting to continue his career overseas.
