Jaleen Smith
Jaleen Devon Smith is an American-born naturalized Croatian professional basketball player for Türk Telekom of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for the New Hampshire Wildcats.
High school and college career
Smith attended Brazosport High School in his hometown of Freeport, where he played basketball. He went on to play four seasons of college basketball at the University of New Hampshire. As a senior, he averaged 15.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Smith was a two-time second-team All-America East Conference selection in his sophomore and senior seasons. He finished his college career as Wildcats all-time leader in games played. He also ranks fifth in points scored and assists made. Smith became the first player in Wildcats history to record more than 1,000 points, 260 assists and 600 rebounds.Professional career
After graduating in 2017, Smith started his professional career by signing with German second division club USC Heidelberg on July 2, 2017. On July 21, 2019, Smith moved to Riesen Ludwigsburg of the top-tier Basketball Bundesliga, signing a one-year deal.For the 2020–21 Basketball Bundesliga season, Smith was elected as Most Valuable Player. He received the award at the same time as his coach John Patrick became Coach of the year. Smith averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
On August 25, 2021, Smith signed a three-year deal with Alba Berlin.
Virtus Bologna (2023)
On July 20, 2023, Smith signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A and the EuroLeague.On 24 September 2023, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its fourth Supercup, and the third in a row, defeating 97–60 Germani Brescia. On mutual agreement, Smith parted ways with Virtus Bologna mid-season, to join another club. In 13 EuroLeague games with Bologna, he averaged 5.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.