Andie Smith accepts scholarship for Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence (CoE)

Her sister is fast becoming a household name in the WNBA, but it’s only recently that Andie Smith has found her own love for basketball. That love has now been rewarded with an incredible new opportunity.

Tasmanian basketballer Andie Smith, 16, has been accepted into the Basketball Centre of Excellence. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Given the success she’s already achieved, and the basketball bloodline she hails from, you’d be forgiven for thinking Andie Smith has always had dreams of going pro.

But unlike her NBL champion father Darren and Australian Opals and WNBA star sister Alanna, the game of basketball isn’t one she had any plans of making a career out of.

That was until her move to Tasmania.

Tasmania's Andie Smith in action at the Basketball Australia Under-16 National Championships in 2023. Picture: Mike Farnell

An avid netballer growing up, the 16 year-old admitted basketball was something she never “took very seriously” as a kid in Melbourne with the move across Bass Strait igniting a passion she never knew she had.

“I was pretty happy just playing netball,” Smith said.

“We moved from Melbourne about four years ago and I started playing basketball again for school and that’s when I decided I actually liked it.

“I started taking it a bit more seriously and I was bottom-age under 16s and not very good.

“But last year at my first nationals tournament was when I figured out I do really love basketball and I do want to make something out of it.”

And make something out of it she has.

After quickly rising through the ranks of the Basketball Tasmania pathways program, Smith’s talents haven’t gone unnoticed with the 6’4” forward recently accepting a scholarship at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence (CoE).

A program designed to provide a pathway for the nation’s best young players, the CoE is based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

While it somewhat caps off a meteoric rise for Smith, it’s also the start of what shapes as a long and successful career in her own right.

“I think it will be really helpful (for my development),” Smith said of her acceptance.

“It’s the best environment in the country with great facilities and the best coaches, so I feel really lucky.”

Andie’s father Darren is an NBL champion and current Tasmania JackJumpers COO. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A former Basketball Australia Pathways CEO and current JackJumpers COO, Darren admitted while the achievement may be one his daughter doesn’t fully understand yet, he’s not surprised given the work and dedication she’s shown to continue to improve.

“I don’t think she fully understands how exclusive these opportunities are,” he said.

“But we are really proud because it’s a really exciting opportunity for her.

“We tried to convince her that basketball was the sport to choose, but it took her a little while. She enjoyed doing a range of things, which we 100 per cent supported, and then after the move to Tasmania, she started heading towards basketball.

“With her size and athleticism, I knew if she was able to put a bit of work in that she would be a decent player and I think she’s exceeded those expectations in a very short time.

“Andie is on her own path but for myself and (wife) Simone, to be able to share the love of this sport with our girls, is something pretty special for our family.”

Smith’s acceptance into the country’s top basketball program caps off what’s been a stellar few years for the family more broadly with older sister Alanna playing in both an Olympics and WNBA finals series in 2024.

And while very much on her own journey, the youngest of the Smith siblings is hoping to one day follow in her big sister’s footsteps and don the green and gold.

Alanna Smith is one of Australia’s best basketball exports. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

“I get a lot of inspiration from her,” Smith said.

“We keep in touch (as much as we can) but I think she’s definitely trying to let me do my own thing because we’ve had different experiences with her growing up in Melbourne and me in Tassie.

“I’d love to play for Australia one day, that’s the biggest thing that I’m gunning for, and the WNBA as well.”

Describing herself as “versatile player who’s good at both ends of the floor”, Smith left Tasmania bound for America on Thursday with the CoE team but will make a quick pit stop back home before officially making the move to Canberra in January.