Even if N.C. State fails to qualify for any postseason play beyond the upcoming conference tournament, this year’s ACC tourney will not be the last Pack fans see of junior forward Tracy Smith in Wolfpack red and white. Smith said Wednesday he has no intentions of going pro until after next season.
“I will definitely be back next year,” Smith said. “I heard they changed up [the process of declaring for the draft] this year and I heard it’s a difficult process, so I probably won’t even take a chance at messing something up. I’m just going to wait for my turn until next year and just try to graduate.”
Smith will take the advice of coach Sidney Lowe, who told his talented power forward he would be best-suited to spend another season in college improving his NBA draft stock.
“Coming from coach Lowe, I know he will tell me all the right things,” Smith said. “He told me that I should come back and play one more year and put myself in a better situation, get my conditioning up and get my body better so I can be an even higher [draft pick] than I would be this year.”
The fact that Smith spent time Wednesday afternoon entertaining questions about making an early jump to the NBA is a testament to the profound improvement the Pack’s star big man made between his sophomore and junior seasons. A year after starting in a little more than a third of his team’s 30 games, Smith has emerged as one of the leaders of not only the Pack, but of the ACC. The junior from Detroit, Mich. is shooting an ACC-best .549 from the floor, is the conference’s sixth leading scorer with 17.1 points per game and is eighth in rebounds with 7.9 boards per game.
Smith is among the conference’s top scorers despite receiving the immediate attention of at least two defenders almost every time he gets the ball. He faced no shortage of double teams prior to the win over Duke Jan. 20. But after torching the Blue Devils with 23 points on 10 for 12 shooting while being defended for long stretches with only one player, it appears unlikely that any opposing coach will assign the task of defending Smith to a single player.
“Most people’s scouting reports say double team Tracy Smith, you can’t play him one-on-one,” Smith said. “Every game, night in and night out, I look for the double team and I just have to be ready to make the right decision. It’s pretty frustrating, but that’s what happens when you’re the best player. Other teams want to take you out of it. They don’t want you to beat them inside.”
His offensive production this season has been a constant for a struggling Wolfpack team sitting in last place in the ACC with a record of 15-13 overall and 3-10 in ACC play.
Smith was suspended for the Arizona game, but has finished in double figures in 25 of the 27 games he has played in, with 20 or more points in 11 of those games. The junior forward has also led his team in scoring in 19 of 27 games this season.
“Tracy has basically been the one consistent thing that we have had going on every single day, every day we play the game,” redshirt senior shooting guard Farnold Degand said.
The offensive struggles the Pack has experienced have occurred despite tremendous play from Smith, according to freshman forward Scott Wood.
“He’s a beast and he’s going to get paid a lot of money some day,” Wood said. “He is carrying the team on his back. I’m sure he probably has back spasms real bad right now. If I could give him the ball every time on the block, then I would do it. He’s a great player and he runs our team. If we can just give him a little bit of support each night, I think we will be fine.”
Smith said he will spend the upcoming summer working to improve his stamina and his jump shot.
“I just have to get my conditioning better and get stronger,” Smith said. “My 15-foot jump shot, I plan on shooting that more.”
Smith said he is already excited about the arrival next season of freshmen Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown after sharing the court with them during pickup games last off-season.
“I can’t wait,” Smith said. “I played with them over the summer. We played pickup basketball in the gym and shot around. Ryan Harrow’s a good kid. Him and Lorenzo, I’m definitely looking forward to playing with them next year.”
