Belus Smawley
Belus Van Smawley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Rutherford County, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | April 24, 2003 (aged 85) |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, coach |
| Years active | 1946–1952 (player), 1951–1956 (coach) |
| Known for | Longest game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history, early use of jump shot |
Belus Van Smawley (March 20, 1918 – April 24, 2003) was an American basketball athlete and coach, distinguished for making the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history—a remarkable 50-foot shot executed on November 25, 1948.
Biography
Standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and playing both guard and forward positions, Smawley hailed from Rutherford County, North Carolina. He was one of the earliest players to consistently employ the jump shot, a skill he refined in a deserted train depot near his residence. Basketball historian John Christgau attributes the early development of the jump shot to both Smawley and Kenny Sailors, dating back to approximately 1934.
Before rising to professional prominence, Smawley earned All-American honors at Appalachian State University. He became a notable figure in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later evolved into the National Basketball Association in 1949. His professional career spanned from 1946 to 1952, during which he played for the St. Louis Bombers, Syracuse Nationals, and Baltimore Bullets, maintaining an average of 12.7 points per game. In the 1948–49 BAA season, he placed sixth in total scoring and fourth in field goals made.
After concluding his playing days, Smawley shifted focus to coaching and sports administration. Between 1951 and 1956, he held the roles of athletic director and head men's basketball coach at Pembroke State College (currently known as UNC Pembroke) in North Carolina. In December 1951, he briefly resumed his playing career with the Baltimore Bullets; during this period, Vernon Felton temporarily took over coaching duties at Pembroke, guiding the team to a 12–10 record that season. In recognition of his contributions, Smawley was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
BAA/NBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Number of games played | MPG | Average minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal shooting percentage | FT% | Free-throw shooting percentage | ||
| RPG | Average rebounds per game | APG | Average assists per game | ||
| PPG | Points scored per game | Bold | Career best | ||
Regular season
| Season | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–47 | St. Louis | 22 | – | .321 | .766 | – | .5 | 11.9 | |
| 1946–47 | St. Louis | 48 | – | .308 | .740 | – | .4 | 11.1 | |
| 1948–49 | St. Louis | 59 | – | .372 | .747 | – | 3.1 | 15.5 | |
| Template:Nbay | St. Louis | 61 | – | .345 | .828 | – | 3.5 | 13.7 | |
| Template:Nbay | Syracuse | 16 | – | .339 | .815 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 7.8 | |
| Template:Nbay | Baltimore | 44 | – | .389 | .859 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 13.8 | |
| Template:Nbay | Baltimore | 11 | 12.6 | .206 | .824 | 1.6 | .7 | 3.6 | |
| Career totals | 261 | 12.6 | .347 | .797 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 12.7 | ||
Playoffs
|- ! Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG |- |- |style="text-align:left;" | 1947 |style="text-align:left;" | St. Louis |3 |– |.324 |.545 |– |.3 |.17.3 |- |style="text-align:left;" | 1948 |style="text-align:left;" | St. Louis |6 |– |.302 |.778 |– |.3 |11.0 |- |style="text-align:left;" | 1949 |style="text-align:left;" | St. Louis |2 |– |.417 |.000 |– |0.0 |5.0 |- ! colspan=3 style="text-align:center"| Career !11 !! – !! .320 !! .690 !! – !! .3 !! 11.6 |- |}