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Arizona Basketball: How Ray Smith’s Torn ACL Affects the Arizona Wildcats

By Alex Furrier

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First and foremost, I want to say thoughts and prayers go out to Ray Smith and his family. I have no doubt he will work harder than ever to get back out on the court better than ever.

I’ve seen my brother tear his ACL, MCL, and meniscus playing basketball right in front of me. Having watched his grueling recovery, and I can’t imagine how hard it is on Smith to have to go through it all two times.

It seems somewhat callous to talk about a player’s injury only in terms of how it will affect a game people play, but we’re a college basketball website and that’s what we write about. Get better Ray Smith!

I could write you a short list of the ways that Ray Smith’s torn ACL affects Arizona basketball. It could be clean, concise, and even have fancy bullet points with bold font.

Instead, I’m going to take you on a cross-dimensional trip so that we can better understand just how different things would be if Ray Smith never tore his ACL.

Let’s take a journey across time and space to an alternate universe where Ray Smith is healthy and suiting up for Arizona this season:

January 3rd, 2015

Healthy Ray Smith Timeline

Smith’s season starts slow, as Freshmen are prone to. He backs up senior grad transfer Mark Tollefsen at the small forward position.

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Tollefsen is a good player, but therein lies his difference to Ray Smith. Although a freshmen, Smith has the potential to become a great player.

More than anything, that lost potential knocks Arizona’s season ceiling down a rung. In this timeline the PAC-12 opener would mark Smith’s ascent to the starting lineup, as a well played game against ASU would play heavily into Ray Smith taking Tollefsen’s starting job two weeks later against Washington State.

Darkest Timeline 

Without Smith to step in as the backup swingman, Miller must rely more on his stable of guards: “Mini McConnell” Parker Jackson-Cartwright, super senior Gabe York, super frosh Allonzo Trier, Juco scoring machine Kadeem Allen, and Ol’ Reliable Elliott Pitts. Without Smith, Tollefsen is the only traditional small forward on the team and will see an increase of minutes.

March 24th, 2016

Healthy Ray Smith Timeline

With Ray Smith in the starting lineup, Arizona’s offense takes a dynamic leap. With Smith a greater threat on offense, teams cannot focus their defensive efforts on stopping frontcourt seniors Ryan Anderson and Kaleb Tarczewski. The nudge that Smith provides allows Arizona to return to its 3rd Elite Eight in a row, where they lose (as is tradition).

Darkest Timeline 

Arizona’s offense sputters in the NCAA tournament after scraping out the Pac-12 crown over Cal (but losing to the Bears in the conference tournament finals). A #3 seed in the West is not good enough to avoid getting knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen.

Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats /

Arizona Wildcats

A quality season for the Arizona Wildcats, but one that fails to live up to the ridiculously high standards the previous two squads set.

November 8th, 2016

Healthy Ray Smith Timeline

After flirting with leaving Arizona as a fringe 1st round prospect, Smith returns to Arizona. The 2016 season kicks off with Smith as one of Arizona’s premier players.

Darkest Timeline 

Smith returns from his rehabbed ACL tear as the backup 3, the same position he would be in a year ago.

May 8th, 2016

Healthy Ray Smith Timeline

After a productive season as Arizona’s leading scorer and being named a PAC-12 Player of the Year finalist, Smith declares for the NBA draft under the proposed new underclassmen deadline in May.

Smith is a surefire First Round pick.

Darkest Timeline 

After a slow start, Smith comes on strong at the end of the season to win the starting small forward position.

He is considered a Second Round pick with potential but scouts want to see him at full strength before grading him as First Round talent. The Arizona Wildcats net a third year of Ray Smith’s eligibility.

What We Learned

Ray Smith’s torn ACL does not affect Arizona’s 2015-16 team greatly, but the echoes of his injury will be heard in the following two seasons.

In the short term, losing Smith lowers the potential ceiling of this current Arizona squad. Smith is a dynamic force when healthy, and has the potential to swing 1 or 2 games Arizona’s way over the course of a season.

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The biggest impact will come late in the season, when the depth he would provide at the 3-spot would benefit Tollefsen. Smith could have been starting come tournament time, adding more firepower to Arizona’s squad.

The greater impact is felt in the following two seasons. The biggest takeaway from Smith’s injury: he will have now lost two years of basketball development during the most crucial developmental time period for players.

This sets Smith back a year in his timeline, and no doubt he would be a better player if he spent the last two years playing competitive basketball rather than in physical therapy.

Whereas he was a potential one-and-done (more realistically two years and into the pros), Smith will now face rehab and acclimation to college basketball before showcasing his talents to NBA scouts.

Smith figured to be one of Arizona’s best players in the 16-17 season, and this coupled with the fact that after Tollefsen graduates he would be the sole small forward on the roster.

Now his play will have to be treated with patience. After two ACL tears and two missed development years, the future for Ray Smith’s play is a mystery.

Hopefully he can come out swinging, but either way the fans will have to wait a year to find out.

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