Belus Smawley

Belus Smawley
	Smawley in a Bennett's Prune Juice advertisement, circa 1950.
Personal information
Born	March 18, 1918; Ellenboro, North Carolina
Died	April 24, 2003 (aged 85); Mooresville, North Carolina
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Ellenboro; (Ellenboro, North Carolina)
College	Appalachian State (1939–1943)
Playing career	1946–1952
Position	Shooting guard
Number	14, 2, 10, 8, 5
Coaching career	1951–1956
Career history
As player:
1946–1950	St. Louis Bombers
1950	Syracuse Nationals
1950–1952	Baltimore Bullets
As coach:
1942–1943	Appalachian State
1951–1956	Pembroke State
Career highlights and awards
	As player: NAIA tournament MVP (1943); As coach: North State Conference champion (1943); North State Conference Coach of the Year (1943);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Career coaching record
College	57–58 (.496)

Belus Van Smawley (March 20, 1918 – April 24, 2003) was an American basketball player and coach.

A 6'1" guard/forward from Rutherford County, North Carolina, Smawley was one of the first basketball players to regularly use the jump shot.^[1] Smawley developed his shot in an abandoned train depot near his home that was fashioned into a basketball court. Basketball historian John Christgau has concluded that Smawley and Kenny Sailors of rural Wyoming were using jump shots as early as 1934.^[2]

Smawley was an All-American basketball player at Appalachian State University before becoming one of the early stars of the Basketball Association of America (which became the National Basketball Association in 1949.) From 1946 to 1952, Smawley competed for the St. Louis Bombers, Syracuse Nationals, and Baltimore Bullets, averaging 12.7 points per game. During the 1948–49 BAA season, Smawley ranked sixth in the league in total points and fourth in field goals made.^[3]

After his playing career ended, Smawley served as a school principal and basketball coach. Between 1951 and 1956, Smawley served as the athletic director and head men's basketball coach at Pembroke State College, known today as The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, in Pembroke, North Carolina.^[4] In December 1951, he took a three-month leave of absence from Pembroke State College to finish his playing career with the Baltimore Bullets. In his absence, Vernon Felton, a member of the Pembroke State faculty and former Appalachian State athlete, led the team to 12 wins and five losses; finishing the season at 12–10.^[5] Smawley was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.^[2]

BAA/NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	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
1949–50	St. Louis	61	–	.345	.828	–	3.5	13.7
1950–51	Syracuse	16	–	.339	.815	3.0	2.3	7.8
1950–51	Baltimore	44	–	.389	.859	3.0	2.8	13.8
1951–52	Baltimore	11	12.6	.206	.824	1.6	.7	3.6
Career		261	12.6	.347	.797	2.8	2.3	12.7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1947	St. Louis	3	–	.324	.545	–	.3	17.3
1948	St. Louis	6	–	.302	.778	–	.3	11.0
1949	St. Louis	2	–	.417	.000	–	.0	5.0
Career		11	–	.320	.690	–	.3	11.6

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing
Appalachian State Mountaineers (North State Conference) (1942–1943)
1942–43	Appalachian State	16–5	9–0	1st
Appalachian State:		16–5	9–0
Pembroke State College Braves (Independent) (1951–1956)
1951–52	Pembroke State College	0–5
1952–53	Pembroke State College	14–9
1953–54	Pembroke State College	6–16
1954–55	Pembroke State College	10–12
1955–56	Pembroke State College	11–11
Pembroke State College:		41–53
Total:		57–58
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

References

^ Christgau, John (1999). "Belus and the Sunshine Basketball Boys". Origins of the Jump Shot: Eight Men Who Shook the World of Basketball. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 156–186. ISBN 0-8032-6394-5.
^ ^a ^b Joe DePriest. "He's the man who started the jump shot." The Charlotte Observer. 4 May 2003.
^ Belus Smawley. basketball-reference.
^ UNC Pembroke Athletic Record Book Archived June 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ UNC Pembroke 1952 Indianhead Yearbook

[1] Christgau, John (1999). "Belus and the Sunshine Basketball Boys". Origins of the Jump Shot: Eight Men Who Shook the World of Basketball. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 156–186. ISBN 0-8032-6394-5.

[A-2] Joe DePriest. "He's the man who started the jump shot." The Charlotte Observer. 4 May 2003.

[3] Belus Smawley. basketball-reference.

[4] UNC Pembroke Athletic Record Book Archived June 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[5] UNC Pembroke 1952 Indianhead Yearbook

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