It’s a rarity in which the top two talents on a draft board don’t make the NCAA Tournament, and although Smith as the two slot is far from unanimous, he has stood pat here for the past few months now. As one of colege basketball’s most explosive athletes, this season has been characterized by growing pains for Smith, as a rough start to the season triggered some legitimate concern about his draft prospects among the upper tier. Now, though, as the season comes to it’s rather uneventful close for the Wolfpack, he’s executing art one of the higher levels in college basketball.
The Smith versus Ball debate is one that very much highlights this big board, as well as the draft’s elite point guard conversation as a whole. Markelle Fultz has separated himself from the pack by a rather sizable margin, meaning thoe two — although Ball seems to be trending far higher at this point — will be the topic of much debate for teams searching for point guards outside of the the top overall spot, assuming Fultz comes off the board there.
Where I draw the line in that debate is scoring. And while that may seem like an oversimplification of things, the tendencies of today’s league and the nature of both their games gives Smith a rather substantial advantage when analyzing the best prospects for the next level. Point guards, nowadays, excel most when possessing more of a dual-threat skill set. Ball, as I mentioned earlier, boasts some massive potential based on his outwards creation alone, yet can’t quite match Smith in terms of putting pressure on the defense as a scorer, and thus opening up up the floor in other ways.
Previous Ranking: 2
Smith scores the ball at all three levels in impressive fashion. His 3-point percentage tallies out at just 36.9, but his early-season slump likely puts a damper on those numbers. He’s also explosive in the mid-range game, using shifty ball handling and quick bursts of speed to open up space and get shots off. On top of that, he gets to the rim well — heck, at will sometimes. That leads to plays like this:
Aside from his scoring, though, another aspect of Smith’s game that deserves recognition is his passing. Largely considered a score-first guard — which he is — coming into the season, it was largely assumed that Smith’s facilitation skills were a step behind the likes of Fultz and Ball, among others. And, while I’m not quite putting them on that level, Smith has dropped some impressive passes in his own right this season, showcasing excellent court vision and squeezing some bullets through extremely tight windows.
If there’s one area where I’m dissatisfied the most with Smith, it’s defense. He doesn’t have the greatest size nor length for the position (averaging out at a meager 6-3 with a wingspan not far beyond that), and his effort has been consistently inconsistent all season longer. While his quickness and high basketball I.Q. should allow him to create plays when available, Smith’s utter lack of drive this season has been my biggest concern. That could clearly change when placed on a better roster at a professional level, but it remains a problem worth noting heading into draft season.