Background
Smith-Rivera is the son of Mateo and Kelana Rivera.
Smith-Rivera is the son of Mateo and Kelana Rivera.
He started high school at North Central High School in Indianapolis, and led his team to a state championship in his sophomore year. He transferred to the basketball specialty Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior year, and he helped lead that team to the 2012 national championship. He was recruited by UCLA, Louisville, Memphis, NC State, and Georgetown.
He visited with NC State, but signed a letter of intent with Georgetown on October 15, 2011. He was named to the Big East's All-Rookie team. In his sophomore year, he started all but one game, recorded two double-doubles, and led the team with an average 17.6 points-per-game.
He was selected for the Big East Weekly Honor Roll five times during the season, and was named to the All-Big East Second Team at the end of the conference season. In March 2015, following Georgetown's Round of 32 knockout in the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, Smith-Rivera announced he would declare for the 2015 NBA draft. A week later, Smith-Rivera reversed his decision and announced that he would stay at Georgetown for his senior year.
Although a good player, he has not been able to defeat Big East powerhouse Villanova recently. The Villanova defense was easily able to shut him down. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 regular season, he was selected to the Second Team All-Big East.