New Arkansas assistant coach Keith Smart has spent his entire career in the professional ranks. While much of the game on the floor translates the same way, the recruiting side of things will be a new endeavor for Smart who will be able to lean on his NBA experience to give the Razorbacks an early boost on the trail while he learns the ropes.
Ask any recruit in the country what their ultimate goal is and an overwhelming majority will say they have dreams of playing basketball beyond college. Not only does Smart have the connections to help get them there, he has several decades worth of experience with the grind it takes to make those dreams a reality.
Smart has seen countless players from all different situations and walks of life who have made the journey to the NBA. For some, the pathway was smooth. For many, there were bumps along the way. Some stick when they get their shot, and others flame out quickly. What makes Smart unique is that he's coached and mentored all of the above and also has lived the grind himself as a player.
Although Smart is widely remembered for his game-winning shot for Indiana in the 1987 NCAA National Championship, his road to that point wasn't easy. Not heavily recruited out of high school, Smart went the junior college route before finding a home with the Hoosiers.
After his heroics at Indiana, he was drafted but cut after only playing two games with the San Antonio Spurs. Smart spent the rest of his playing days overseas and in the minor leagues before getting into coaching. Essentially any obstacle that may arise for prospects along the way, Smart has likely experienced it in some form or fashion.
That wisdom and potential for guidance will carry heavy weight on the recruiting trail. It also doesn't hurt that he can name drop the likes of Steph Curry, among many others, as players he has coached himself over the years.
"For each of these young men I’m going to come in contact with every road they are going to try and travel on I’ve been on that road already," said Smart. "I can share with them. For me I wasn’t recruited out of high school, I went off to junior college and got recruited from there. Understanding that portion of it, going to college, graduating from college, getting drafted into the NBA. Getting cut from the NBA. Playing basketball overseas all around the world. There are going to be a lot of those roads they go on.
"Selling myself to them and what they are going to face going forward through life, that’s part of the recruiting angle that I will employ. Because they are going to be there. They are going to go on those routes and I can share my experience from each one of those that they are going to go on, on what it takes to get into the NBA. That’s where they all want to go. Every young athlete wants to get to the next level in any sport. I can share my experience with a lot of these young men that I’m going to come in contact with as well as their families."
The relationship building, connections and potential are all in place for Smart to give the Hogs a big-time boost on the recruiting trail. Now, even though he has a lengthy to-do list as he settles in with Eric Musselman and the staff, the next step is getting through the necessary certifications, making his way to Fayetteville and getting up to speed on the process so he can hit the trail with authority.
"Coach and I joked about this," said Smart. "We were talking a little bit about basketball, ‘Hey Coach, let’s think about this play, let’s think about that defensive understanding.’ I could hear in his voice, ‘Yeah, yeah, I understand that, but here’s your list of players to start looking at and gathering your information, so when you start your process you can hit the ground running.’
"So the last three days, all I’ve been doing is creating a data base for myself, how it works for me, along with what they’re sending me. Getting a face relationship to the players that are on my list and who their parents are and things like that. So when my time comes to start reaching out, I can have a face identity with whomever it is I’m going to be talking to."
Smart is finalizing some things at his home in the Bay Area and plans on arriving in Fayetteville next weekend. His presence will loom large as on-campus visits are scheduled to begin in June with a number of highly-sought after prospects working towards setting up officials. Arkansas has two scholarships to fill for next season and is heavily in the mix for several coveted Class of 2022 recruits.
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May 15, 2021 at 06:30PM
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Keith Smart brings pro perspective to recruiting trail for Arkansas - 247Sports
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