Smith's father, Curt, worked for Senator Dan Coats at the time before returning to his native Indiana when Andrew was a young boy.

[3][4] His coach, Scott Flatt, called Smith "a freak" of nature because he had enough mobility to guard multiple positions despite his size.

In an Elite Eight match against Kansas State, Smith was inserted into the lineup when Matt Howard got into early foul trouble.

In the final game of the regular season, he played a career-high 36 minutes and recorded 11 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, all career highs.

[4] During the round of 32, Smith hit a go-ahead basket with less than 3 seconds on the clock to help Butler beat top seeded Pittsburgh.

Smith led the team in rebounding in the regional final against Florida and in the National Championship game against Connecticut.

[7] Following the graduation of Howard and the early departure of Shelvin Mack to play in the NBA, Butler struggled during Smith's junior year.

Butler failed to make the NCAA Tournament, instead playing in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

[7] During the off-season, head coach Brad Stevens asked Smith to take on a new role – vocal leader.

[2] Facing reigning Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the year, St. Joseph's C. J. Aiken, Smith scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

[8] In the lone game he missed, Butler was upset at home by Charlotte, underscoring Smith's importance to the team.

[1] Butler returned to the NCAA tournament, and Smith recorded 14 points and 16 rebounds against Bucknell in the round of 64.

[8] With Butler trailing by two in the final seconds, Smith got the ball to attempt a game winning three but stumbled and did not get off a good shot.

[10] Defensively, Smith had strong games against future NBA players Cody Zeller, Kelly Olynyk, and Mike Muscala.

He was also a second team Senior CLASS Award selection, recognizing his achievement in athletic competition, character, academics, and community involvement.

[2] Smith finished his Butler career 5th all-time on the schools list of games played (134), 12th in rebounding (648), and 25th in points scored (1,147).

[8] Smith is just one of three Butler players, along with Howard and Joel Cornette, to amass more than 100 wins and more than 1,000 points in his career.

"[6] He added that the experience prepared him well for a pro career: "we played just about every single good team you can in my four years there.

[10] Prior to the NBA draft, Smith trained at the St. Vincent Sports Performance Center in Indianapolis, working with former teammates Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward.

He was not expected to be drafted, but received offers to play for the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder teams.

Initially, it was determined that he did not have cancer, but a later MRI scan revealed a suspected cancerous tumor in one of his lungs, and he returned to the U.S. Doctors in Indianapolis initially determined he was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and soon made a more specific diagnosis of T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma.

[14] On July 31, 2014, on his third day on the job, Smith collapsed at his office in a building next to Indianapolis International Airport and went into cardiac arrest for more than 22 minutes before being revived and rushed to a nearby hospital.

While doctors would not officially link the cardiac arrest with his cancer battle, both Smith's wife and father believe the two were related.

While he had yet to fully regain his strength, he had not suffered any apparent neurological damage from his prolonged cardiac arrest.

In a 2015 article on Smith's struggles, CBS Sports journalist Matt Norlander said, "The fact Andrew left the hospital with full control of his faculties barely a week later – and has not suffered any setbacks – is supernatural.

"[14] He received a bone marrow transplant in November 2015, but his condition worsened; his wife reported in a December 2015 post to their blog that the lymphoma had become an aggressive leukemia.

Stevens, now the head coach of the Boston Celtics, missed a January 7 game against the Chicago Bulls to visit with Smith,[16] who was reportedly scheduled to receive a second bone marrow transplant that day.

Following his death, the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named him and his widow as recipients of the 2016 men's version of its Most Courageous Award.

[1] Smith's best friend in high school, soccer player Blake Leyden, was his roommate at Butler.

[14]Smith then returned to the job he held before his cardiac arrest, and coached in a church-based youth basketball league.