While he might not start, Malachi Smith has become vital for Gonzaga

In an up-and-down season, the Zags have been finding stability off the bench via the play of sixth man Malachi Smith.

The junior guard took a winding road to Spokane, with stops at two different universities and a redshirt year over the course of the prior four seasons. Along the way, Smith has seen college basketball from just about every perspective a player can experience. He’s been a bit player, a bench player and a bonafide star. He’s played for an obscure team in a small conference, for a trendy mid-major, and now for one of the sport’s biggest brands.

Smith’s long journey to Gonzaga has helped instill some valuable intangibles that he brings to his role coming off the bench.

“He’s super experienced,” junior guard Julian Strawther said after Saturday’s win over BYU. “The other night he got to what, 1,500 career points? Not every team can get a guy like that, so experienced and had big moments at Chattanooga, averaged 20 points per game, and to be able to come here and settle into a bench role where he can produce big moments in big games. We’ve seen him have 25, 27 points because he’s so electric.” 

Coming out of high school in the St. Louis suburbs, Smith was overlooked as a college prospect. He was so off the radar that recruiting service 247Sports didn’t even give him a grade or star ranking. Smith received an offer from Wright State, a Horizon League school in Dayton, Ohio, and stayed in the Midwest for his freshman season. His first collegiate campaign saw averages of 5.4 points in 15.1 minutes per game as a reserve. He earned Horizon League all-Freshman Team honors.

Then, he jumped up into a bigger pond. After his freshman season, Smith transferred to Chattanooga and the Southern Conference.  Head coach Lamont Paris made Smith a full-time starter as soon as he was eligible. Smith’s scoring shot up, first to 16.8 points per game in 2021, then to 19.9 in 2022. Last season, Smith helped lead Chattanooga to a 27-8 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. There, the Mocs nearly upset Illinois before falling short by just one point. Individually, Smith raked in awards — winning Southern Conference Player of the Year and being named the Lou Henson National Player of the Year as the best player in the country at a mid-major program.

When he announced his intention to transfer after last season, he was immediately among the most coveted players in the transfer portal.

Gonzaga, expected to once again compete for a national championship, won the Smith sweepstakes.

Since arriving on campus, Smith has had to trade his star starter role for a spot coming off the bench. He’s been Gonzaga’s main reserve guard this season, averaging just over 20 minutes per game. His numbers, 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and and 1.3 assists per game don’t jump off the page, but they’re solid for a non-starter. His best attributes, however, aren’t as easily quantifiable as the box score stats.

“He’s a good leader and he’s very confident in himself, so I have a lot of confidence in him down the stretch of games,” head coach Mark Few said after Saturday’s win.

While Saturday’s game against BYU wasn’t his best showing of the season, with just five points, two rebounds and a steal, his impact was important nonetheless.

“To me the biggest shot of the game was down six, we get an offensive rebound tipped out to Malachi top of the key and we cut the lead to three. That kind of sparked some life back into us. We were in a tough spot, we turned the ball over a couple of times, and Mali steps up and knocks it down,” Strawther said.

That’s one of the things about Smith. He’s not normally going to put up huge numbers for this Gonzaga team, but you can count on him to deliver when called upon. Smith leads the team in offensive rating this season — essentially the number of points a player produces over 100 possessions — at 129.7. According to advanced stats website KenPom.com, that’s 22nd best in the sport. In West Coast Conference play alone, Smith’s offensive rating is an astronomical 144.0, which is tops in the league.

If advanced stats aren't your bag, here's a simpler stat: Smith has the best 3-point percentage on the team, nailing an eye-popping 50.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc — way above Julian Strawther's also excellent second-ranking 41.5 percent. (The only downside is Smith somehow only ranks fourth on the team in 3-point attempts.)

On the other side of the ball, Smith has been a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal defensive season.

“He's a big enough guard that when we’re handling some of these guards who seem to be going downhill and taking it at us, he can deal with it much like Anton,” Few said.

Already a college basketball journeyman, in his fifth season removed from high school, Smith is still technically just a junior. Thanks to a redshirt season his first year at Chattanooga and the extra year of eligibility given to athletes who played during the coronavirus pandemic, Smith can return to Gonzaga again next season if he so chooses.

For now, though, Gonzaga fans get at least seven more opportunities to watch Smith bring his experienced spark off the bench for the Zags.

NEXT UP

Men

Gonzaga at LMU • Thur, Feb. 16 at 8 pm • CBS Sports Network

Gonzaga at Pepperdine • Sat, Feb. 18 at 4 pm • KHQ/ROOT Sports

Women

Gonzaga vs. Pacific • Thur, Feb. 16 at 6 pm • SWX

Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s • Sat, Feb. 18 at 2 pm • SWX