Boston Celtics

Former Butler star Andrew Smith dies after battling cancer

Published Jan. 12, 2016 8:35 p.m. ET

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Former Butler basketball star Andrew Smith died Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 25.

Butler athletic director Barry Collier spoke with Smith's family before issuing a joint statement with university President James Danko.

On Sunday, Smith's wife, Samantha, posted a blog item saying doctors had told her that ''death was imminent.''

The Indiana native played on both of Butler's national runner-up teams and finished his career with 1,147 points and 648 rebounds.

He was diagnosed with an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma early in 2014. Last November, the 6-foot-11 basketball player had a bone marrow transplant. Three weeks later, Smith's wife wrote that his body rejected had it.

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens, the former Butler coach, skipped his team's game in Chicago last week to visit Smith.

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