The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER n June, the mock NBA Drafts started showing what NC State basketball fans were dreading. Fresh off an im- pressive performance at the NBA Combine and coming off a historic debut season for NC State, Wolf- pack guard Terquavion Smith, was rising up the draft boards. The Athletic's Sam Vecenie projected Smith to go in the first round with the 24th overall pick to the Milwaukee Bucks. "He's an awesome shot maker that creates them off the bounce and has real suddenness to his game off the bounce," Vecenie noted, before adding that Smith's finishing abilities and defense needed to improve. ESPN's Jonathan Givony had Smith rated the No. 22 player available in the draft in his top 100. "He was one of the standouts of the drills portion in the first day of the com- bine, and then scored 17 points in a scrim- mage in the second day," Givony noted. It seemed highly likely that Smith, one of the few success stories in a disappoint- ing 2021-22 season, would not be part of a rebuild for head coach Kevin Keatts in the upcoming year and instead take his talents to the NBA. Then came the pleasant surprise. Despite a legit- imate chance to be a first-round NBA Draft pick, Smith was not done in Raleigh. He was returning for at least one more season with the Wolfpack. The Decision To Return If the NBA Draft process is any in- dication, Keatts will see a mature ap- proach from Smith, who is attempting to elevate his game this coming season. "I've had a lot of guys who went through the process during my entire career," Keatts noted, "when I was an assistant coach, when I was at UNCW and now at NC State. "Terquavion and I probably had the best communication of anybody that I've ever dealt with. "He had a small group. It was just him and his dad, and then he had an NCAA- certified agent that we would have some conversations with." Improved on-court decision-mak- ing and strength are two priorities that Keatts said NBA scouts identified for Smith this season. The coach added one more: leader- ship. "He has no choice," Keatts said. "He is locked in, and he is going to be the leader. He's been through a process that most guys have not had. He had a chance to sit down with some NBA of- ficials, talk to them and got feedback. "I think what he went through is great." Smith soaked in all the feedback he could and agreed that he needed to get stronger. During the summer, he was knocking on 170 pounds. His hope was to play the season between 175 and 180 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame. Smith was still trying to figure out how to add the extra few pounds, though, and joked, "I eat a lot anyway." Smith also wants to prove that he has the capability to be a lead guard. Discovering what he needed to im- prove on, even if that advice was the result of constructive criticism during the draft process, was "easy" for Smith, he declared. "I like to learn," Smith noted. "Any- time I can learn and work on my game, that's easy for me." In fact, one last workout provided the last piece of information for Smith to decide to come back to NC State, an an- nouncement that he made May 31. "The feedback I got made me turn to coming back to school," he recalled. And although Smith has an opportu- nity to collect financially on his name, image and likeness (NIL), which nu- merous other college basketball stars have been lucratively doing, that may not have been the significant factor with Smith that some may surmise. "For me, it wasn't about the money," he stated. "I would hoop for free, if I could. It's just an accessory, I feel like." An Encore Season Smith's decision to return to NC State will understandably set expectations high for him in the 2022-23 season. Givony has already re l e a s e d a n e a r l y mock draft for 2023 that has Smith go- ing in the lottery at No. 13 to the Atlanta Hawks. Finding a way to exceed his debut sea- son will be a chal- lenge. He averaged 16.3 points per game, which was second behind All-ACC guard Dereon Seabron at NC State. But in conference play, Smith elevated his scoring to 18.3 points a contest, best on the squad. His 96 made 3-pointers led the ACC, and he shot 40.1 percent from beyond the arc in league games. Smith was I FOR THE LOVE OF THE PACK Terquavion Smith Put His NBA Dreams On Hold To Return To NC State " What I love about the kid is that one of the reasons that he wanted to come back to school is that he wanted to play his way into a higher pick next year, but he also loves his school and his teammates. " Head coach Kevin Keatts on Smith