Arkansas Prospect Nick Smith Jr. Shines in Unofficial Debut

The potential lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft looks good early in his college career.

Projected lottery pick Nick Smith Jr. led the Arkansas Razorbacks to a win over Valencia Seleccion in Spain on Tuesday. This opened up a four-game European tour for the Razorbacks, which will give fans a first look at this loaded Arkansas team that should be one of the best teams in the country this season.

Headlining the team is Smith, who led Arkansas in scoring with 17 points, including a trio of 3-point makes. He also produced six rebounds and four assists in limited action. 

That dude @ntsmith1402 went to work pic.twitter.com/iS2YwyNpAt

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) August 9, 2022

It was an impressive unofficial debut for Smith, who was a top-three high school prospect before taking his talents to Fayetteville. While this was just an exhibition game that doesn't count towards the team's record, he still showed flashes of just how electric he could be in his freshman season. 

As a senior at North Little Rock High School, Smith led the team to a 27-3 record and second consecutive Arkansas Class 6A championship. He was one of the highest producers in the country, averaging more than 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per contest.

Can he lead the Razorbacks to a championship at the college level? Last season, they fell to Duke in the Elite Eight.

Arkansas will play three more games in Europe before heading back home to prepare for the start of the regular season. These contests will take place on Thursday, Saturday and Monday in Spain and Italy.

• Aug. 11: Barcelona Todo-Estrella (1:30 p.m. CST)
• Aug. 13: Orange1 Basket Bassano (12:30 p.m. CST) 
• Aug. 15: Bakken Bears (12:00 CST) 

Each of these remaining games can be streamed at FloHoops.com.

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