Dayton Flyers' Scoochie Smith to start pro career in Australia

Former Dayton Flyers point guard Scoochie Smith will start his professional basketball career in Australia.

The Cairns Taipans announced the signing of Smith, who played with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Summer League, on Friday night. Cairns is in the state of Queensland on the northeast coast of Australia.

"As a coach, you're always watching games on TV and people catch your eye," Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said on the team's website. "I first noticed Scoochie in his senior year at Dayton – and watched him throughout the college season and NCAA tournament. Then he played Summer League with the Boston Celtics – he started out in Utah, but I watched him when I was in Vegas. It was good to see him playing in that environment. We liked his size and his ability to run a team."

MORE: Who is Scoochie Smith?

Cairns plays in the National Basketball League, which includes seven teams from Australia and one from New Zealand.

Wayne grad Travis Trice played for Cairns last season. Trice will play for the Brisbane Bullets in Australia next season.

Smith finished his Dayton career in March with 1,289 points. He ranks 26th in school history.

#NBL18's name game just levelled up, with @CairnsTaipans announcing the signing of dynamic import Scoochie Smith ➮ https://t.co/KR4aCpC72M pic.twitter.com/aCFYceAT9W
— NBL (@NBL) July 28, 2017