University of New Hampshire Athletics
Photo by: Greg Greene
Smith Signs Pro Contract in Germany with MLP Academics
7/5/2017 10:50:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HEIDELBERG, Germany – Jaleen Smith (Freeport, Texas) of the University of New Hampshire men's basketball team signed a professional contract with MLP Academics in Germany to become the 10th Wildcat to go pro.
"I would like to thank everyone that I encountered in my time at UNH," said Smith. "UNH gave me the best four years of my life.
Smith, who graduated in May, is the first Wildcat since Chris Pelcher in 2014 to sign a professional contract to play overseas and continue his basketball career. The guard averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his senior campaign to lead the Wildcats to a 20-win season for the second consecutive year and a spot in the America East Playoffs semifinals. Smith improved his numbers in each of the four seasons and he was instrumental in the team's turnaround from a 6-24 season in 2013-14 to a 19-win season a year later. The Wildcats' 59 wins the past three season is a program best. UNH is also one of three Division-1 teams in the New England to win 19+ games the past three seasons.
"We are really excited here at UNH with the next step in Jaleen's basketball career." said head coach Bill Herrion. "Jaleen had a great four-year career for us and now he's taking the next step. There is no doubt he will continue to have great success as a basketball player and we wish him well."
Smith is the first America East student-athlete to be picked up by MLP Academics, a team that finished 20-15 overall last season and 18-12 in the Pro-A league in Heidelberg. The squad scored 74.5 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting. Smith is the sixth player on the team to hail from the United States.
In an excerpt from the team's official website, manager Matthias Lautenschläger said – "His versatility convinced us, Jaleen is very good in many statistics. He played on a very disciplined team… Smith is very big for a guard and with him at the two, we can switch better on defense."
Smith recorded his 1,000th career point this past season and he finished fifth overall on the program's career scoring list with 1,397 points. He is the team's games-played leader at 122 games and he's the only Wildcat in program history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 260 assists. The Texas native was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team for the second time in as many years this past season. Other accolades include 2015-16 All-Northern New England College Basketball Second Team and 2014-15 America East All-Championship Team.
"I would like to thank everyone that I encountered in my time at UNH," said Smith. "UNH gave me the best four years of my life.
Smith, who graduated in May, is the first Wildcat since Chris Pelcher in 2014 to sign a professional contract to play overseas and continue his basketball career. The guard averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists in his senior campaign to lead the Wildcats to a 20-win season for the second consecutive year and a spot in the America East Playoffs semifinals. Smith improved his numbers in each of the four seasons and he was instrumental in the team's turnaround from a 6-24 season in 2013-14 to a 19-win season a year later. The Wildcats' 59 wins the past three season is a program best. UNH is also one of three Division-1 teams in the New England to win 19+ games the past three seasons.
"We are really excited here at UNH with the next step in Jaleen's basketball career." said head coach Bill Herrion. "Jaleen had a great four-year career for us and now he's taking the next step. There is no doubt he will continue to have great success as a basketball player and we wish him well."
Smith is the first America East student-athlete to be picked up by MLP Academics, a team that finished 20-15 overall last season and 18-12 in the Pro-A league in Heidelberg. The squad scored 74.5 points per game on 44.4 percent shooting. Smith is the sixth player on the team to hail from the United States.
In an excerpt from the team's official website, manager Matthias Lautenschläger said – "His versatility convinced us, Jaleen is very good in many statistics. He played on a very disciplined team… Smith is very big for a guard and with him at the two, we can switch better on defense."
Smith recorded his 1,000th career point this past season and he finished fifth overall on the program's career scoring list with 1,397 points. He is the team's games-played leader at 122 games and he's the only Wildcat in program history with 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 260 assists. The Texas native was named to the America East All-Conference Second Team for the second time in as many years this past season. Other accolades include 2015-16 All-Northern New England College Basketball Second Team and 2014-15 America East All-Championship Team.
Players Mentioned
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