Smith’s embrace of leadership obvious

Ron Bailey, Publisher

April 27, 2006 - Nolan Smith, a 6’3”junior guard who attended Oak Hill Academy last year is firmly planted on the high end of the high school hoops spectrum. He not only played for a secondary school team that was ranked number one for much of the season, but verbally committed to play for Duke University.

Such a lofty position could create a sense of contentment in many young people, but not Nolan. He’s working hard to improve, preparing for a once in a lifetime hoops experience this summer, and again playing for DC Assault.

When reached recently at the Charlie Weber Spring Fling, Smith had just left the court after his DC Assault Gold team’s dispatch of Team New Jersey. Despite playing point guard with aplomb, which included running half court sets, setting up and supplying alley oops to streaking teammates while also applying significant on ball defensive pressure during this contest, Nolan communicated a need to further improve his hoops effectiveness this AAU season. “This summer, I’m working on playing the point guard position more” he said. That includes “Being more unselfish at the one (point guard) spot, but also being aggressive, in case I have to play the two (shooting guard).

Being more offensively aggressive in addition to leading a team have been points of emphasis for Smith this past year, as he revealed “A lot of coaches have been telling me that I have to be aggressive”. He went on to state “They like that I’m unselfish, but want me to do more, including scoring”.

Assault’s Mike Sumner is one of those coaches. One of the founding members of the Assault organization shared a conversation he had earlier this spring with Nolan, which centered not only on increased scoring, but leadership. “I challenged him to lead the team in New Jersey (during Teaneck, N.J.’s Spring Fling, held at the end of March)” shared Sumner, who then went on to state “He has a tendency to get lost” at times, on the court.

Sumner did not mean to disparage Smith, but was communicating Nolan’s past history of not becoming the proverbial lead dog of the team. Resultantly, Sumner “put the onus on him” since “In our program, he’s got to be a leader”. Necessitating Smith’s leadership, in part, is due to the young man having “the most knowledge (regarding basketball) of the seven or eight guys on this team”, expressed Sumner.

In addition to going to the Adidas and NBA Players Association camps along with playing with Assault, Nolan has been afforded the opportunity to audition for USA Basketball’s entry in the FIBA Americas Under 18 Championship event. This tournament, which will be held at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX from June 28 – July 2, will pit an American squad against similarly aged young men from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Watching this kid develop, you can't escape the feeling that you will see him play, for a long time in the future. Check him out with Assault (click here for schedule), or if he makes the team, venture down to San Antonio. To do so will be like watching the evolution of a future hoops maestro.