by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Having a close knit family and being taught to help people has helped Otis Smith in his basketball career as well as serving as the basis for the Otis Smith Kids Foundation.
Smith was born and raised in Jacksonville. He currently lives in Orlando where he played basketball for the Orlando Magic for three years and is now the assistant general manager. But when he was young, Smith said he wanted to be a firefighter, not a basketball player.
“Basketball kind of chose me,” he said. “I never thought it would have gone this far.”
Smith grew up with four brothers and five sisters. He attended Forrest High where he played basketball. By his senior year, Smith was being recruited by colleges from all over the country, but he wanted to stay close to home and accepted a full basketball scholarship to Jacksonville University.
“It seemed like the perfect fit,” said Smith. “I could go home when I needed to and I was able to spend time with my mother when she had cancer until she passed away during my sophomore year.”
His success stems from his mother, and how all 10 of her children were raised.
“Our family is like a community in itself,” said Smith. “The way we were brought up (to help young people) has carried on through all of us.”
Smith said his success is a, “natural progression of what my mother stands for.”
Smith was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1986 and also played for the Golden State Warriors before joining the expansion Orlando Magic in 1989. He retired three years later and joined the team’s front office.
“We were like the new kids on the block; it was an exciting time,” he said of his time with the Magic. “It was different for me because I was on the west coast and I am from Jacksonville and I looked at it as an opportunity to come home and play in front of my home state.”
That same year Smith founded the Otis Smith Kids Foundation. Every chance he got to come home during his rookie year, he did something for the kids, he said.
“By starting the foundation, it gave me an opportunity to keep doing that for years to come,” said Smith. “I used basketball as a vehicle to get things done. I had clinics, camps and I was able to deliver whatever message I wanted through basketball, but it wasn’t enough.”
Smith and a friend of his, Andy Jacobs, brought the foundation to its feet. Smith said Jacobs played a large role in getting it up and running.
“For the first couple of years our offices were located in his house,” said Smith. “We grew as the area grew and we changed.”
Right now the foundation’s office is in Avondale, but that is not where they do the programs; everything is done in the schools.
“A lot of kids don’t get to see different things and what else is out there; it is a big thing for them,” he said. “We are just trying to assist them and make sure every kid gets an opportunity to succeed.”
Some of the programs the foundation offers to students include after school tutoring, assisting them with the FCATs, enrichment programs and career days. Smith said in the summer they offer, “Have a Dream Camp” that is based on dedication, responsibility and motivation. They also sometimes take the kids to the beach or a football game because a lot of people don’t get to do those kinds of activities, he said.
Currently, the foundation is working with about three schools and helps 1,000 children a year.
“We work with the schools,” he said. “It is a partnership and if it was any other way, it wouldn’t work. All of us are in it together.”
Even though the Foundation is based in Jacksonville, because Smith works for the Orlando Magic, it is hard for him to spend as much time as he would like with the Foundation. Smith said he tries to maximize his time when he is in Jacksonville.
While Smith is in Jacksonville for a week when the Magic hold training camp at the University of North Florida starting Oct. 4, he will be doing double duty, splitting his time between the Magic and the Foundation.
Smith began his job as assistant general manager on July 1 and he shares the job with Dave Twardzik, assistant general manager. Smith said that situation is very unique in sports.
“This is what I have always wanted to do,” said Smith. “I have been on every side of the ball, from the business side to the game side. I have enjoyed every side I have been on.”
Smith said he likes every aspect that comes along with being a general manager.
“You’re really close to everything and I like communicating with the guys and the agents,” he said. “It’s a challenge, but for the most part it’s fun.”
Smith said his family is still in Jacksonville and he is happy where his life has taken him.
“I played basketball because I enjoyed it, but I always wanted to be general manager so I just worked at it. But I didn’t see it going this way,” he said.