Arizona’s Ray Smith Calls It a Career After Third ACL Tear

Arizona redshirt freshman wing Ray Smith announced he has ended his basketball career after suffering a third ACL on Tuesday during an exhibition game.

The 6-foot-8 Smith missed all of last season with a medical redshirt due to an ACL tear. He was projected as the No. 26 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.

Smith said in his tweet that “sometimes in life all you can do is the best that you can do,” and that the “6-8 long athletic wing who can play multiple positions is out.”

Thank you ! ?❤️? pic.twitter.com/YRB6EwUFCA
— Ray Smith (@raysmith2297) November 3, 2016

Arizona coach Sean Miller released his own statement on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/vAhnrIrSw6
— Sean Miller (@UACoachMiller) November 3, 2016

Arizona now has nine healthy scholarship players, but only seven are currently eligible because Chance Comanche is serving an academic suspension and Allonzo Trier sat out Tuesday’s game for unspecific reasons.

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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.