Former Butler basketball player Matt Howard has named his first child in honor of the late Andrew Smith.
Howard, 27, and wife Brittney announced on Facebook that their son was born Thursday in France, where Howard is on the Strasbourg IG pro team. The son, Micah Andrew Howard, weighed 7 pounds and was 20 inches long.
The fact that the hospital room number was 344 — Smith's jersey number was 44 — "made me tear up and Matt shake his head immediately," Brittney posted on Facebook. "We know Andrew Smith is watching over us!"
Howard and Smith were teammates on Bulldogs teams that reached NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011.