Nick Smith Jr.'s college adversity at Arkansas will help him on NBA journey, high school coach says

Smith's one season at Arkansas was limited because of a knee injury

By Nate Olson | Photo by Tommy Land 

Former North Little Rock star guard Nick Smith Jr.’s one year at Arkansas didn’t play out like he planned. 

Nagging knee pain limited the 6-foot-5 combo guard to just 17 games with 14 starts. Still, ESPN’s No. 1-rated prospect in the recruiting 2023 class managed to average 12.5 points per game and is projected by most analysts to be picked somewhere in late teens or early 20s of Thursday night’s NBA draft. 

“I think we only saw a shell of what type of a player he is,” former NLR head coach Johnny Rice said. “He was hurt in the summer when the team played in Spain and Italy and didn’t really communicate that. He was hurt a little worse in October when he came back the first time, and he came back again and wasn’t 100 percent. I don’t think he was ever 100 percent.”

>> More coverage of Nick Smith Jr.

While Smith was sidelined much of the conference season, fans and others took to social media to criticize the 19-year-old for not being dedicated to helping the then-struggling Razorbacks win. By February he was back, and Arkansas made a semi-surprising run, as a No. 8 seed, to the Sweet 16 by upsetting No. 1 seed Kansas, 72-71.

“I wasn’t really in contact with [Smith] a lot, but if he didn’t want to be a Razorback, he wouldn’t have played at all,” Rice said. "He wanted to play and help them."

Rice said the silver lining of the painful, adversity-filled season in Fayetteville is that Smith will be ready for the pressures and physical and mental rigors that come with being an NBA first-round draft pick.

“It could be good,” Rice said. “I don’t know how much adversity Nick faced in his career before. When you go to The League, you have to know how to withstand physical and mental challenges. It might be hard to believe [but the year at Arkansas] could be a good thing. He has been faced with adversity now, and it will help him down the road.”

Up until early May, Rice was fielding calls from NBA scouts asking about Smith. Rice, who left coaching after the 2021-22 season, said they didn’t ask “basketball questions” but instead wanted to know about the company Smith kept in high school and how he handled adversity. Rice said he asked one of the scouts how Smith’s injury and his dropping in some mock drafts might affect his stock.

“[The scouts] don’t pay attention to mock drafts; they are just meant for entertainment,” Rice said. “What he has done in those individual workouts for teams shows more of a true picture. They draft on potential and upside rather than what he can do right now and how that translates to sustaining a career in The League.”

After his senior season in high school, NBA scouts drooled over Smith in the workouts he competed in with different all-star games, including the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit. Rice said what he thinks is Smith’s calling card is his 6-foot-5 frame.

“Nick not only has the skills to play in the NBA but the size and athletic ability,” Rice said.

Smith has seen NBA talent pass through his program before. Former Arkansas one-and-done guard Moses Moody was a Golden State Warriors' draft pick (14th) in 2021. He helped NLR win a state championship his sophomore year before transferring to Montverde (Fla.) Academy for his final two prep seasons. 

Moody, who averaged just over 16 points per game in his one season at Arkansas, has averaged 4.6 points over two seasons in 115 games (14 starts) with the Warriors, who won the NBA title his rookie season.

“I remember when Moses came up [to North Little Rock High School] before the draft doing a documentary,” Rice said. “He said he didn’t want to go to a franchise that was building. He wanted to go to a team and learn from veteran guys. He was super excited to go to Golden State, and he has been able to learn from Steph Curry and those guys. I can sense he is ready to step up to a more prominent role with Golden State or another team.”

Smith could take a similar path even though he didn’t have quite the standout freshman season Moody did.

“I think Nick’s future is bright,” Rice said. “Him and his dad and his family have been working for the ultimate goal to get to Thursday night. I’ve seen him put in all the work, and he is an NBA guy.”

And where will Smith’s high school coach be on draft night?

“I will be at the house watching with my wife, just like I did (with) Moses,” he said. “It was so cool. I rolled back to the DVR to watch it again. I can’t wait. It will be really exciting to see where [Smith] goes.”