Answering questions about the Marcus Smart story

Photo Attribution: US Presswire

There have been two really good stories written recently about orange jesus (Marcus Smart).

The first was in USA Today and outlined Smart’s background and had some pretty chilling quotes from #33 himself.

Also, John Helsley did a great job with his story in the Oklahoman over the weekend with Smart’s narrative.

Both, however, left me with a funny taste in mouth centering around the Smarts’ move from Lancaster to Flower Mound.

Neither of the articles really addressed the issue.

For those of you who don’t live in/near Dallas, that’s quite a step up in cost of living, and one that you don’t usually make.

For example: according to this site the average value of a home in Flower Mound is $318,000, compared to $132,000 in Lancaster. That’s like going from being a walk-on to being an All-Big 12 1st team candidate.

Obviously, I don’t know what anyone in the Smart family does for a living, and for all I know they were just hoarding money until they could make the move. But…well…that’s not how it usually works.

Anyway, I started snooping (Googling) around a little bit today and I remembered this article in the Dallas Morning News that was written two years ago about Smart, the Fortes, and some eligibility issues.

Here are the highlights:

Flower Mound Marcus basketball player Marcus Smart, whose family lives in a house owned by a team booster and pays less than market value rent, was ruled eligible Monday by the University Interscholastic League, a Lewisville ISD official said.

“Team booster” = Phil Forte’s parents.

In February, The Dallas Morning News reported that Smart, since his transfer from Red Oak to Marcus his freshman year, has lived in a house owned by team booster Phil Forte.

The lease, provided by the Lewisville ISD, calls for the Smarts to pay $800 a month. Flower Mound real estate agents interviewed for the story estimated that fair market value for a house its size in that area, valued at around $140,000, would be $1,100 to $1,300 a month.

A comparative market analysis established that similar-size area properties were rented for an average of 77 cents per square foot, which would put rent for Forte’s house at $1,184 per month.

Forte called the $800 payment reasonable, saying in an e-mail that the home was occupied by someone with whom he was comfortable. He said that he never took calls regarding minor repairs and that the payment was enough to cover the interest and principal he paid.

Pretty interesting, right?

I honestly don’t have any problem with this and am personally not real sure I want to go any deeper on the issue than this article.

If Forte’s parents want to help Smart’s family get out of a crappy situation by knocking a little off the rent, fine. Actually, more than fine, that’s a generous move by somebody who definitely didn’t have to do it.

Does the fact that Smart helped Forte win back-to-back state titles play in? Yes, absolutely. But it’s a stretch to say it was the only reason. Forte and Smart were boys (via AAU) before he moved anyway.

I’m not trying to justify (or for that matter, stir up) anything here. Just presenting the information to those of you who, like me, had questions regarding the Marcus Smart story.