Malachi Smith came to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga three years ago focused on goals.
He wanted to focus on personal growth during the 2019-20 basketball season, so instead of transferring from Wright State to UTC with intentions of playing, he chose to sit out. Given the opportunity to get on the court the following two seasons, Smith and the team thrived.
Now he believes it is time to move on, with the 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard announcing Tuesday his intentions to enter the NBA draft pool.
It’s similar to the decision he made last season to test the draft waters, but in a phone interview with the Times Free Press on Tuesday evening, he seemingly shut the door on another possible return.
“I feel like Chattanooga was great to me, and I feel like I did everything that I wanted to do when I came to Chattanooga,” said Wright, who is from Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. “I came in with goals and expectations, and not just individually but as a team. We completed a lot of those goals, most of them, if you want to be honest.