Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2011 NBA draft. As a junior, he started at shooting guard for Duke's national champion 2010 team. As a senior, he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year.
Early life
As a child, Smith frequently attended Washington Bullets practices after his father, then-former NBA player, Derek Smith, took their assistant coach position in 1994. Following the shocking death of his father in 1996, the Bullets made him a frequent guest at their home games.
High school career
As an eighth grader, Smith played varsity basketball for The Key School in Annapolis, Maryland before moving to St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. for his freshman season in 2003–04. At St. John's, he was a third-team all-conference pick while averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
As a sophomore in 2004–05, Smith attended Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. There, he averaged 16 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals per game as he led Riverdale to a 33–1 record and subsequently earned third-team All-Metro honors.
For his junior and senior years, Smith attended Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia where he was a two-year captain and played alongside several future NBA players, including Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson and Brandon Jennings. In 2005–06, he averaged 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals per game as he helped Oak Hill to a 40–1 overall record and a final USA Today No. 2 national ranking. He subsequently earned EA Sports second-team All-America honors.
On November 13, 2006, Smith signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Duke University.
As a senior in 2006–07, Smith averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game as he led his team to a 40–1 record, tying the school's single season wins record and helping Oak Hill earn the top spot in the final USA Today 2007 Super 25 national rankings. He earned first-team EA Sports and Parade All-American honors and was named to the Les Schwab Invitational all-tournament team after leading Oak Hill to the championship. He also earned McDonald's All-American honors.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Smith was listed as the No. 8 shooting guard and the No. 39 player in the nation in 2007.
College career
Freshman year
As a freshman at Duke in 2007–08, Smith played in all 34 games, with one starting assignment as he averaged 5.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 14.7 minutes per game. He earned his first collegiate start against Cornell on January 6, 2008, and scored nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, while overall, he scored in double figures six times, including a season-high 21 points against Wake Forest on February 17.
Sophomore year
As a sophomore in 2008–09, Smith played in 34 games, with 21 starting assignments as he averaged 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He finished the season ranked fourth on the team in double-figure scoring games with 17. He scored a season-high 16 points, along with five rebounds and four assists, against Michigan on November 21, 2008.
Junior year
As a junior in 2009–10, Smith started 38 games after sitting out the first two games of the season, serving a suspension for playing in a non-sanctioned summer league game. He averaged 17.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He led the Blue Devils in field goals made; finished second in assists, steals and three-point field goal percentage; and third on the team in scoring, three-point field goals, free throws made, free throw percentage and minutes. He subsequently earned second-team All-ACC honors, and claimed USBWA All-District III and NABC Second Team All-District 2 honors.
March 28, 2010, Smith scored a then career-high 29 points on 9-of-17 from the field in an Elite Eight game, as Duke defeated Baylor and advanced to the Final Four. In that game, Smith (628 points), Jon Scheyer (690 points) and Kyle Singler (667 points) became the second trio in Duke history to each score at least 600 points in a season; in 2001–02, Jay Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. first accomplished that feat for Duke.
Smith went on to earn NCAA All-Final Four team as he led Duke to an NCAA championship victory. He averaged 16 points and five assists per game in wins over West Virginia and Butler.