Texas Tech basketball: Zhaire Smith takes big step towards return from injury

Former Texas Tech basketball star Zhaire Smith has been cleared to practice and may be nearing a return to the court after breaking his foot this summer.

If there is one common experience the stars of the 2017-18 Texas Tech basketball team can share, it has been the struggle to return to the court after a foot injury.  During last season, both Keenan Evans and Zach Smith had to fight through foot injuries and since this summer, Zhaire Smith suffered the same misfortune.  But now, it appears that the Phildalphia 76ers rookie is making significant progress towards returning to action.

According to multiple reports, Smith has been cleared to practice and will be joining Philadelphia’s G-Leage team in Delaware.  This is a significant development for the No. 16 overall pick in last summer’s draft.

It has not been a smooth ride for the first ever one-and-done Texas Tech basketball player.  In August, he broke his foot during workouts extending the Sixers’ bad luck in regards to draft picks.

Including Smith, each of Philadelphia’s last six first round picks have missed at least part of their rookie seasons because of injury with most missing the vast majority, if not all, of the year.   Philly was counting on Smith to be a defensive stopper off the bench to help a team loaded with offensive talent and expected to be a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

As if the foot injury were not enough, in November, it was reported that he had lost 20 pounds after suffering a reaction to a food allergy.  Reportedly, Smith did not know he was allergic to sesame seed and was exposed to foods containing that product at the team’s training facility.

As a result, many speculated that he might miss the entire season.  But now, there appears to be an opportunity for Smith to return as the NBA regular season reaches the home stretch and potentially be a key piece off of the bench in the playoffs.

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Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice has a great analysis of what Smith could add to the team that currently sits in fourth-place in the Eastern Conference at 32-17.

"“With outlier athleticism and his 6’9″ wingspan, Smith will eventually be trusted to be a point-of-attack defender, the guy who can help fix Philadelphia’s inability to defend point guards.” he writes.  “This frees up Philadelphia’s bigger guys — Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, and Wilson Chandler specifically — to take on more like-for-like assignments, and in many cases take lower-usage roles on defense, where they attack with help defense and close off passing lanes.”"

Neubeck has heard that Smith has been undertaking two-a-day workouts to speed up his rehab and touts the rookie’s work-ethic.  That comes as no surprise to Texas Tech basketball fans who saw him develop from a relatively unknown 3-star recruit to a first round NBA draft pick, only the second in program history.

Last year, he averaged 11.3 points per game, second-best on the team.  He led the team with 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game and was one of the most versatile defenders in the nation capable of guarding any spot on the floor.

But his offensive game is still far from NBA-ready.  He will need to work on his ability to shoot contested jumpers and to get his own shot off the dribble and not being able to develop his basketball skills while he recovers from his injury has certainly been a less than ideal situation.  Fortunately, he now seems to be past the physical limitations and can focus on getting his game back in shape in hopes of finally making his NBA debut.