University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) graduate forward Maurice Smith, Jr. earned All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Second-Team honors. The announcement was made during the GCAC 2024 Hope Credit Union Men’s and Women's Championship at Birthright Alumni Hall on the campus of Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This award recognizes the top players in the conference overall. Smith, Jr. was selected to the team from a pool that consisted of all players in the GCAC.
The 6-foot-7 forward started all 21 games at forward this season for the UVI Buccaneers. Smith, Jr. finished the year scoring 305 total points and averaging 14.5 points per game, which both ranked eighth in the conference. Smith, Jr. also recorded 171 rebounds which landed him sixth in the GCAC, and his 8.1 rebounds per game were good enough for fourth in the conference.
He had seven double-doubles on the season and scored in double digits in 17 of his team’s 21 contests, including passing the 20-point mark six times. Smith, Jr.’s offensive production showed through his 110 made field goals which was ranked ninth in the conference, and his three-point percentage of 35.5 ranked him eighth in the GCAC. His best performance of the year came against Rust College where he scored 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point territory. On the defensive end of the floor, the graduate rim protector tallied 20 blocks which gave him an average of one block per game, ranking him seventh in this defensive category. The forward from Lauderdale Lakes, Florida also averaged 1.3 steals per game.
Smith, Jr. is the first player in UVI history to receive this prestigious honor.
About UVI Athletics
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and, as of July 1, 2023, competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC). Entering the 2023-24 season, the Buccaneers will begin their 17th season of athletic competition. As the only Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Caribbean, UVI currently sponsors six sports, including men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. For more information on UVI Athletics, visit UVIAthletics.com.