2 - Nolan Smith
Duke
- Birthday: 7/25/88
- NBA Position: PG/SG
- Class: Senior
- Ht: 6-3
- Wt: 189
- Hometown: Landover, MD
- High School: Oak Hill Academy
- Team Site Profile
- Statistics
NBA Comparison: CJ Watson
YouTube Clip – 10/21/2010
YouTube Clip – 3/25/2007
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Strengths: Smith was a major contributor on a Duke team coming off a National Championship ... At 6'3, he has nice size and length for a point guard, and has enough overall awareness and skill to play off the ball as well ... With the ball in his hands, Smith's high basketball IQ and excellent ball security allow him to efficiently run an offense ... He shows nice touch in the lane when attacking the rim, with a good feel for when to float it/take it strong and when to dish it out to the open man ... He's a capable outside shooter, but generally shoots his best when someone creates open opportunities for him ... Smith's awareness allows him to read defenses and make the right pass in a timely fashion, and despite not being a pure point guard, he's trusted at the position with his excellent decision making and offensive efficiency ... Defensively his best attributes revolve around his length, IQ and effort ...
Weaknesses: Smith's biggest obstacle at the next level will be trying to create separation between him and his defender ... He lacks explosiveness, and therefore takes longer to execute his move and get by his defender... He's not a dynamic athlete, which limits his upside considering he already struggles in the one on one game... Though he shot a very respectable 39% from downtown last season, he will need to continue improving his outside game in order to make him more of a threat offensively ... Defensively he might have trouble guarding NBA 2 guards, limiting his services ...
Overall: Though he won't turn heads with any one aspect of his game, Smith has proven to be reliable in terms sharing the playmaking and scoring responsibilities ... As an NBA prospect, his maturity, leadership, high IQ and complete overall skill set should be enough to get his name called somewhere in the second round ... Winning on the biggest stage for the most respected coach in college basketball will only help his draft stock ...
Jonathan Wasserman - 11/20/2010
Weaknesses: Must further develop his point guard skills as he lacks the size to be a full time 2-guard on the NBA level ... Body is still a bit frail, needs to add overall body strength ...Could struggle some to stand out for his first few years at Duke platooning behind/alongside Greg Paulus ... Runs the risk of getting lost in the shuffle in the Duke program: some players thrive while others suffocate: never fully being able to develop/display their athletic abilities with such a meticulous/mistake free offensive approach ... Peaked early in his high school career to an extent: He was seen as a top 10 guy in his class early in his high school career but dipped into the top 25-50 range by his senior year ... Can at times be reluctant to take over games as he has always played alongside strong talent and has become accustomed to deferring to teammates at the end of games ... Must continue to develop and maintain his strong one on one abilities ...
Notes: Nolan has a tattoo in tribute of his late father Derek Smith who averaged over 12 ppg over a 9 year NBA career ... Played high school ball at Oak Hill Academy with Brandon Jennings and AAU ball for DC Assault alongside Michael Beasley and Austin Freeman ...
Aran Smith - 10/25/2007