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‘Do what makes them happy’: Growing up in an undercover NBA household

When two-time First Team All-BIG EAST honoree Luke Smrek was about 11 years old, he learned something about his father that not too many people can say about their own parents: his dad was previously a professional basketball player.

Mike Smrek played alongside Hall of Famers such as Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond and Michael Jordan. He was also part of the 1987 and ’88 Los Angeles Lakers Championship teams that featured Hall of Fame athletes Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy.

Overall, in his eight-year NBA career, he went on to play for five teams: The Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers.