The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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42 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2016-17 next three years. "We talk about that all the time," Dorn said. "We were on the same team and had no clue. I knew he was good when we were in warm- ups and he tried to do a 360-degree windmill dunk. I was like, 'Who is this kid jumping like that?' He said, 'I'm just a freshman.' I knew then he had a chance to be special." Smith's reputation is global, Gottfried said. Freshman center Omer Yurtseven, a poten- tial first-round pick himself, remembers first looking at Smith's video highlights while in Europe. Wherever Gottfried went, when he men- tioned NC State basketball, a repeated con- versation typically took place. "I have gone all over the planet and it is amazing to me," said Gottfried. "I've sat in Istanbul and other cities around the globe, and when I say that I coach at NC State, the reaction is that people ask me about Dennis Smith." Smith's pre-college résumé is a laundry list of accolades. His team finished as the runner- up for the independent schools 1A state title his freshman year, and then came back to win the championship his sophomore year at Fayetteville Trinity Christian. He fell in the state semifinals as a junior, which ended up being the last time he wore the Trinity Christian uniform. Smith has played in numerous traveling team events with Team Loaded NC and at- tended various individual camps such as the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Camp in 2014, adidas Nations (where he got hurt) and the USA Basketball Trials. He has played on national TV with Team Loaded NC and at the Elite 24 All-Star Game. There is always a learning curve for col- lege basketball freshman, but sitting on the bench last year and observing the Wolfpack's 16-17 season gives Smith an advantage over his first-year peers. "I don't think you have to teach Dennis how to win," Gottfried said. "He wants to win. I think Dennis needs to understand, and he will, that every day he is going to grow just with experience, week-by-week and month- by-month. "He's going to learn about college basket- ball. It is different when you play." Gottfried expects Smith to learn more about time and score nuances, and who should get the ball when he starts getting games under his belt. "He walks in with a great deal of bas- ketball knowledge and basketball IQ level already," Gottfried said. "It is just refining those things and how it fits into our team and what we are trying to do." The Wolfpack isn't even trying to pay the usual lip service that Smith could be back for his sophomore season. The various NBA Draft gurus project him to go in the top five of the 2017 draft. Smith said his focus is on the next six months and then he'll worry about the next step in the process. He just wants to be the best teammate he can be and win games for NC State. "My focus hasn't wavered too much," Smith said. "I realize that I am blessed, and I'm thankful for every blessing that I have." ■ Not even a serious knee injury has slowed down the NBA Draft projections for NC State freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. DraftExpress.com has Smith at No. 2 in the 2017 NBA Draft, right behind Washington freshman point guard Markelle Fultz. "I believed I could be the No. 1 pick before anyone else said it," noted Smith. His pro potential has already caused NCSU head coach Mark Gottfried to essentially say there is little chance he's back for his redshirt sophomore season. The NBA Draft gurus certainly agree with Gottfried. Sam Vecenie, who contributes to Sporting News, has Smith slotted No. 4 in the 2017 NBA Draft, with Kansas freshman small forward Josh Jackson No. 1. ESPN.com NBA Draft guru Chad Ford echoed Vecenie's sentiments with Smith at No. 4, with Jackson claiming top honors. Smith showed some of the NBA Draft writers how good he could be when he was a college camp counselor at adidas Nations, July 29-Aug. 1. It helped mark the one-year anniversary of Smith suffering an ACL tear at the same event in Los Angeles. Vecenie was at adidas Nations and had been tracking Smith's progress since 2014. "Explosiveness is such a vital part of the way he plays basketball," Vecenie said. "He needs to explode off his left knee. He needs to leap off of one foot." Sometimes when players are out for a year, it's out of sight, out of mind. Smith's return this past August created great buzz at adidas Nations. "I don't think he was forgotten on how good he was, but more we wanted to see how he plays after the knee injury," Vecenie said. "Before the injury, I wrote he was the best point guard in the class [of 2016], with the way he operates in the pick-and-roll." Smith's freaky athleticism, ability to dribble where he wants to go and solid size for the point guard spot set him apart. NC State lists Smith at 6-3 and 195 pounds, which is 15 pounds more than he weighed in high school. His body will continue to mature, and his outside shooting and decision- making should get better as he perfects his craft. Vecenie believes Smith will end up improving when he gets a dedicated shooting coach, whether at NC State or the NBA. "It isn't a shot broken kind of situation," Vecenie said. "Dennis will release the ball from slightly different points from time to time. When he's rolling, he's rolling. It's a streaky shot. "It will come along, but I don't know if he'll be a 40 per - cent three-point shooter." The writer wondered if Smith would follow the path of another North Carolina native — Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who attended Wake Forest and Clemmons (N.C.) West Forsyth High. "Dennis has told me he'd like to pattern himself off of Chris Paul," Vecenie said. "He wants to be able to have that terrific basketball IQ. He said he's watched a lot of Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups. "Dennis is more your traditional pick-and-roll point guard, who will get guys on his back and operate in the lane. "The big key for Dennis is his body. He'll need to work to improve his body and strength, and he already has." — Jacey Zembal Smith is being projected as a top-five pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and his goal is to go No. 1 overall. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Dennis Smith Jr. Takes Aim On No. 1 Draft Spot