Even if Nick Smith Comes Back, He Shouldn't Be Expected to Be Knight in Shining Armor

Freshman guard is an 18-year-old who doesn't deserve Razorback fans piling his shoulders with unrealistic expectations

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sometime during the next week or two, Arkansas fans will have the answer to the most gripping question since "Who shot J.R." took hold of the state back in the '80s.

Will Nick Smith, Jr. ever play in a Razorback uniform again?

There's just one problem with that question. It comes with an expectation that if Smith returns, he's expected to be a super hero, some knight in shining armor who is going to swoop in to save Arkansas basketball from the brink of the NIT and lead the program to the national championship promised land.

It's not prudent. It's not fair. 

Regardless of recruiting rankings, the reality is that Smith is still an 18-year old kid. Even if the Razorbacks were to be fortunate enough to find a way into the national championship game, that would still be a fact. 

There are currently young men playing high school basketball in corners of this state who are older than Smith.

In terms of basketball age, the freshman guard is a high school basketball player plus two full games worth of minutes against sub-SEC competition. 

That's not a slight on Smith. The tiny glimpse we got to see of his skills in live action indicates there is tremendous talent bubbling forth from the young man.

However, as Arkansas fans have been able to see firsthand, talent needs hours upon hours of court time at the college level to mature. Getting by on pure skill is all fine and dandy for a non-conference slate of mid-majors, but once the last week of December hits, it becomes a man's game the rest of the way and skill isn't enough.

As good as Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh are, it took them until three weeks into January to begin to really figure it out. It took playing nearly every possible second of 18 games plus all the accompanying practices and film sessions to reach that point.

Smith doesn't have that benefit.

Players experiencing Musselman's system for the for the first time regardless of age have to learn how to learn. 

Most teams are working at a general education physical science level in terms of preparation, whereas Musselman has this team working through an AP Physics C basketball equivalent by the time the NCAA Tournament rolls around. 

Expecting Smith to jump in and be able to process everything Musselman is throwing out at that time, apply it on the court, and execute it in a rotation that hasn't had him on the floor in SEC play is a huge ask.

That's on top of adjusting to grown men barking at him, shoving him all over the place, knowing every little thing that gets in his head and how to shut down certain aspects of his game while having the ability to do it.

No one has ever seen Smith experience that, so no one knows how he will handle it. Even if it goes well, it's still a major adjustment.

There's growth that Smith can't be expected to have right out the gate because it only comes with going through the wars on the court with your brothers under the guidance of your general. 

So, if Smith comes back, enjoy the moment for what it is and bear with him through the growing pains. 

He's not riding in on a white horse to save your day. That's not the responsibility of any teenager.

If he comes back, he's just a kid hoping to enjoy his time playing basketball, help out the boys in the locker room the best he can along the way, and take in what little bit of the college experience is left for him.

No extra pressure heaped onto him by fans needed.

HOGS FEED:

PITTMAN'S PERFORMANCE IN ALABAMA ALONGSIDE SABAN, SMART BIG FOR RAZORBACKS' FUTURE

RELIVE THE DAN ENOS ERA AT ARKANSAS TO GAIN INSIGHT ON WHERE THE RAZORBACK OFFENSE IS HEADED

ANTHONY BLACK GETS REVENGE FOR SLAP TAKEN IN BATON ROUGE

HOGS' COACH SAM PITTMAN HAS BECOME A TRUE HEAD COACH WITH MODERN ERA WISDOM

RAZORBACKS FINALLY ABSORBING DEFENSIVE LESSON MUSSELMAN HAS BEEN TEACHING

HOGS TEAM WAS ONCE SO GREAT THE COACH SCHEDULED A 3-GAME SERIES WITH THAT GENERATION'S VERSION OF THE 90S BULLS WITH JORDAN, PIPPEN

WHICH TEAM THAT STARTED LEAGUE PLAY 11-1 ENDS WITH NCAA BERTH?

SCOUTING REPORT SAYS RAZORBACKS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER, BUT WHAT ABOUT LSU AHEAD OF TUESDAY NIGHT?

NEWEST ITERATION OF HOGS' BASEBALL EXPECTED TO BE LED BY PITCHING

LET'S NOT OVERLOOK ANTHONY BLACK, WHO IS LEADING THIS RAZORBACK TEAM RIGHT NOW

WALSH, DAVIS FINDING CONFIDENCE, DEFINING ROLES KEY TO HOGS' WIN OVER OLE MISS

BREAKING DOWN ALL 33 FOULS CALLED AGAINST ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI

DAN ENOS HIRED FOR REASONS OTHER THAN PLAY CALLING

WHAT MIKE NEIGHBORS LEARNED IN CLOSE LOSS AT LSU HE WILL PROBABLY WANT TO USE WITH HOGS

SEC ADMITS THEY MESSED UP REVIEW, BUT NOTHING ELSE AND NO MENTION OF CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HOGS

HOGS STILL CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO CLOSE OUT A WIN, FALLING TO MISSOURI

A COUPLE OF POSSIBILITIES FOR RAZORBACKS' OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR OPENING

BRILES REPORTEDLY HEADED TO TCU, BUT WHO MIGHT FOLLOW?

MUSSELMAN SAYS LARGE SEC CROWDS POSSIBLY THE ISSUE WITH HOGS

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR RAZORBACKS TO HAVE AN ARGUMENT TO REACH NCAA TOURNAMENT THIS YEAR?

HOGS TIRED OF GETTING PUSHED AROUND BY SEC TEAMS

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