Report: Louisville ‘Having Discussions’ with Duke’s Nolan Smith to Join Payne’s Staff

The Blue Devils assistant and son of Cardinals legend Derek Smith could be coming home.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A familiar name to the Louisville men’s basketball program could be on the verge of joining its coaching staff.

The Cardinals are “having discussions” with Duke assistant coach Nolan Smith regarding joining the coaching staff for newly-hired head coach Kenny Payne, according to The Raleigh News & Observer’s Steve Wiseman.

Ever since Payne was officially tabbed as Louisville’s next coach in mid-March, Smith’s name has been consistently floated around as someone who could potentially join his staff due to his ties to the program and city.

His father, Derek, played for the Cardinals under Denny Crum, was a member of Louisville’s 1980 championship, and is the seventh-leading scorer in program history. Smith was also born in Louisville, and his father, who died of a massive heart attack in 1996, is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery.

Smith also has a fair amount of basketball acumen to boot. He played for the Blue Devils from 2007-11, helped them win a national title in 2010 - 30 years after his father and in the same city, Indianapolis - and was the ACC Player of the Year in 2011. He was selected in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers.

After his playing career ended, Smith returned to Duke in 2016 as a special assistant. He was promoted to director of basketball operations and player development in 2018, then promoted again this past offseason to assistant coach.

Duke went 32-7 and 16-4 in ACC play this season, reaching the Final Four before falling to North Carolina this past Friday. Smith played a sizable role in helping the Blue Devils secure the top-ranked recruiting class in the 2022 cycle, and was the lead recruiter for top-five prospect Dariq Whitehead.

Payne has yet to appoint anyone to his coaching and support staff. Louisville has seen several players either enter the transfer portal or decommit since the end of their season, but has received confirmations from key contributors Sydney Curry and El Ellis that they will return for next year.

(Photo of Nolan Smith: Jeremy Brevard - USA TODAY Sports)

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