Mark Smith kept coming back to the same word: fit.
What seemed like a perfect one when the star guard from Edwardsville signed with the Illinois men's basketball team last April turned out to be a combination that fizzled before it reached one calendar year.
The 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball and Gatorade player of the year is hitting the transfer market, he confirmed to the Post-Dispatch on Monday afternoon.
"I love the university, but it's just not the right system for me to play in," Smith said in an interview Monday afternoon.
"I wish them the best of luck with Coach (Brad) Underwood and the staff.