The college basketball star who never was but can't be stopped

Ray Smith should have been a college basketball star for a national powerhouse. We should have ooooh'd and ahhhh'd as we watched him fly above the rim and throw down dunks, snatch rebounds and swat shots for the University of Arizona Wildcats.

This is a sad story but, improbably, one with a hopeful ending.

Smith's college hoops career was finally set to begin this Tuesday after a run of bad luck delayed his destiny. Instead, his promising future on the hardwood was unfairly cut short before he could even get started.

Smith arrived at Arizona's Tucson campus a year ago as a top-flight recruit from Las Vegas. The recruiting site Rivals.com ranked him the 17th best player in the high school class of 2015, while ESPN.com ranked him the nation's third-best small forward recruit.

He could run the floor and finish with authority. An NBA career was very much in play; at the very least, one assumed, he could make a lot money playing pro ball overseas. This high school highlight mix from March 2014 showcases Smith's tantalizing potential as a 6-foot-8 wing player.

Smith missed his senior season at Las Vegas High School after tearing the ACL tendon in his right knee. But that seemed a minor setback -- he was young and talented, and still had his whole career ahead of him.

Smith worked his way back to the court and Arizona was still glad to add him to its vaunted 2015 recruiting class. But that October, just as his freshman season was set to begin, Smith tore the ACL in his right knee. A budding basketball star suffering not one but two ACL tears while still a teenager? It was a stroke of massively bad luck.

Yet Smith had surgery. Again. He ground his way through rehab. Again.

This Tuesday night, he finally stepped onto the court in an Arizona uniform for the first time. After missing his final high school season and his first college season, the moment had been a long time coming. On Halloween, he shared his anticipation for Tuesday night on Twitter.

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The excitement would would be short-lived, however.

Smith scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time on Tuesday night. But in the first half, he walked off the court to get checked out in the locker-room. He returned in the second half, but fell to the floor on a non-contact play. This time, he was carried off the court.

For the third time in three years, Smith had torn his ACL. For the second time in three years, it was his right ACL that gave way.

"In the 25 years I have been a college basketball coach, I have never felt as helpless as I did when I saw him go down on Tuesday night," Arizona coach Sean Miller said in a statement released by the school.

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"No 19-year-old kid should have to experience three season-ending injuries in a 30-month period of time," Miller said. "I have watched Ray work with our strength and conditioning coach tirelessly for two years. I have seen him in our training room around the clock, doing everything he can to play the game he loves. To witness his extraordinary efforts and see this happen to him once again is beyond disheartening."

Smith announced Thursday afternoon that, after three ACL tears in three years, he's ending his basketball career before it really even began. He'll reportedly have another surgery soon.

"I love the game of basketball but I have decided to step away from the game for good," he wrote in a message posted to Twitter, adding that he still plans to attend Arizona and stay involved with the team.

But he cautioned fans and observers from pitying his fate.

"This is not a letter to be sorrowful about because when I look at the opportunities basketball has presented to me, I am grateful," Smith wrote.

Less than 48 hours after his latest ACL tear, Smith was back at an Arizona practice helping teammates go through drills.

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On Tuesday night, hours after he'd been hurt but before he announced his early retirement, Smith logged on to Twitter and posted a message. In it, he put his predicament in perspective.

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So we can wonder about the career that never was, and the highlights we'll never get to see. But Ray Smith, it seems, will be just fine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.