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2 - Russ Smith

6-1, 160 Point Guard/Shooting Guard
Louisville Senior
Birthday
04/19/91 (32.9 yrs)
Hometown
Brooklyn, NY
High School
South Kent
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
8
Size
6
Defense
6
Strength
6
Quickness
9
Leadership
7
Jump Shot
7
NBA Ready
7
Ball Handling
8
Potential
6
Passing
7
Intangibles
8
85 Overall:

NBA Comparison: Dominic James

Strengths: Smith is one of the most talented scoring guards in the nation due to a combination of excellent lateral agility, elite top-end speed and supreme aggressiveness … He excels in transition because of his fantastic athletic gifts/body control and is always looking to push the ball and attack … He’s quite possibly the toughest guard in the country showing the willingness to continually attack and finish despite being around 6’foot 160 lbs … He uses a very solid handle (led by a strong hesitation dribble) to get into the paint and get to the line at an amazing rate, where he shoots a high % (80%) … All of these things benefit him in the more wide-open game in the NBA … Smith has come a long way in terms of decision making and shot selection during his college career, as well as showing times where he can get red hot from beyond the arc … He uses his aforementioned lateral quickness and toughness to cover even the quickest of guards and never backs down from playing physically, even at his size … He has tremendous instincts, excellent hands, impressive length for his size and always puts forth a strong effort … Was not heavily recruited, a late bloomer, who has become one of the top college players due to hard work …

Weaknesses: The comparison has been beaten to death is that Smith plays like Allen Iverson and while it makes some sense, that typically ends up being a kiss of death … Smith’s athleticism and fearlessness will give him a shot at making it, but he’s still viewed as a 6’ shooting guard in a league that doesn’t value that type of player highly, particularly one with limited shooting ability … He’s one of the lighter NBA prospects to come along in a while and could greatly benefit from putting on 10-15 lbs, although that may cost him so of his ability to change directions and top-end speed … His lack of size and strength has also affected his ability to finish at the rim consistently … While his speed makes him a terror in Louisville’s pressure defense, his size makes him a defensive liability as a combo guard … He plays primarily off the ball in college and when he does have the ball in his hands you can tell the first thing that comes to his mind is “score” … His 1-1 (2.9/2.7) assist to turnover ratio illustrates his questionable ability to play the PG position … When asked to run the point, he shows a mediocre ability to do so … Another concern is his inability to shoot from deep. (33% from 3) … He’s very streaky/inconsistent for someone whose main forte is scoring … He must continue to improve as a shooter and become much more efficient if he wants a place in the NBA …

Overall: He’s an extremely undersized shooting guard that’s very light and struggles to consistently make shots from the perimeter and tends to get ‘tunnel vision’ … Despite his college exploits and elite quickness, it’s difficult to imagine him making it in the league unless he’s able to make some big strides in his current skill set …

Sam Gallenberger 4/8/13

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