ORLANDO -- Northwestern College alumnus Tom Smith ('88) has one of the best seats in the house at this year's NBA Finals that feature the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. Smith isn't exactly at the arena for entertainment though, as his job as the head trainer of the Magic keeps him rather busy tending to the physical needs of players like Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.
Smith, a four-year student-athlete in both cross country and track and field at Northwestern, now sits two chairs down from Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy. A double major in sports studies and bible at Northwestern, Smith set the college's 3,000-meter steeplechase record in 1987 (9:53.6) that stood for 22 years until Zach Marshall bested his mark in 2009. Smith was an eight-time national championship qualifier in cross country and track and field.
After the early part of his career included stints in the NBA, CBA and International Hockey League, Smith, a Long Prairie, Minn. native, worked as the head athletic trainer at St. Paul Academy in St. Paul. He returned to the NBA in 2000, working for the Atlanta Hawks until joining the Magic in July of 2006.
The Smith family name is still well-known at Northwestern. Tom's brother James in an associate professor in Northwestern's business department, while Kris Smith, Tom's sister-in-law, chairs the physical education department. When the Magic are in Minneapolis to play the Timberwolves, there's always a section unofficially labeled "S" in the Target Center, as the Smith family and friends gather to see their now-NBA Eastern Conference Champion brother at work.