Virgin Islander Leslee Smith (right) returned to action for NCAA Div. 1 Southern Methodist University following seven months out with a torn ACL in his left knee

Smith tore his ACL back in March this year and spent seven long months recuperating before making his season debut on December 4, 2011, in the Mustangs 69 – 63 victory against Arkansas-Little Rock. He scored 4 points and had 2 steals in 12 minutes of playing time.

Little Rock used a 17-0 run in the early going to take a 19-5 lead, and was up 30-24 at halftime. But Smith hit two 3-pointers early in the second half to spark an 11-0 run that put SMU back on top 35-32.

The 14-point comeback ties for the eighth largest in SMU history, but is only second this year. The Mustangs overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Florida Gulf Coast 65-64 on November 19, 2011.

In his second game back on Thursday December 15, 2011 in the Dallas Classic having sat out 2010 as a “Red Shirt”, Smith and his team mates fell, 59-58, to Jackson State, which had won only one of its first 10 games before facing SMU (5-4).

Freshman Kelsey Howard led Jackson State with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting. The Tigers (2-9), down 10 early in the second half, used hot shooting to take its first lead with 7:19 left on a 3-pointer by Howard, then squeezed out the win late.

"Probably so," SMU coach Matt Doherty said when asked if the programme had missed an opportunity by losing in the Classic, which was part of the programme's ongoing efforts to fix a disconnect between SMU and Dallas Independent School District and the greater Dallas area. "But just the attention of coming here, I know they appreciate it."

Smith, a member of the elite C-USA Commissioner’s Honour Roll, went 2 for 3 with field goal attempts, made 2 offensive and 1 defensive rebound, suffered 3 turnovers and made 1 steal in 6 minutes playing time.

Before choosing Southern Methodist University, Smith, who is yet undecided on his Major, played forward for coach Carlos Wilson at Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas.

Originally from the Virgin Islands, he helped the BVI National Team to a silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships which was held on Tortola in the Virgin Islands.