Chris Smith Leaving Manhattan; St. Ben's Playing for National Championship

Chris Smith is transferring from Manhattan.

The 6-foot-3 former St. Benedict’s Prep guard and younger brother of Denver Nuggets guard JR Smith will end up somewhere else and will have to sit a year.

“Chris has asked for his release and our athletic department has granted this request,” Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen said. “We appreciate his contributions to this program and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Smith averaged 13.4 points and 5.7 rebounds. He scored in double-figures 20 times, including a 35-point outburst against Princeton.

Smith initially committed to Seton Hall but the schools parted ways and he began playing at Manhattan the second semester of 2007-08.

**Speaking of St. Benedict’s, Dan Hurley’s club is playing for a national championship this weekend. Read about it here.

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.