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Dennis Smith Jr. will be a freshman point guard at North Carolina State next season. He’s a 6’2 point guard with a mesmerizing combination of speed, athleticism and point guard skills. He had scouts fixated on him at adidas Nations last week as he plays the game with great pace, showing leadership to go with the physical gifts. He showed that he is completely back from the ACL injury he suffered at the same event a year ago which forced him to miss his entire HS senior season. I got the chance to sit down with him during the event to find out what makes him tick, and came away thoroughly impressed with his maturity and charisma.

NBADraft.net: Talk a little bit about being back on the court and playing once again here at adidas Nations.

Dennis Smith: It’s been exciting. This is where I tore my ACL last year. It happened in the last game. So I think god that I can be back here competing. I’m just grateful to be back on the court.

NBADraft.net: Were you at all reluctant to come back knowing that this was the same gym that you injured your knee a year ago?

Dennis Smith: Not really. It’s not in my mind to be honest. I never wore a brace or anything since I came back to playing so, tearing my ACL didn’t affect my head at all.

NBADraft.net: Was it disappointing to not be involved with all the high school showcase games? A lot of kids grow up dreaming about being part of McDonald’s AA and the Jordan Classic Game and so forth.

Dennis Smith: It’s part of life. That was something that I wasn’t able to do and I’ve just had to move past it. And I just use it as motivation.

NBADraft.net: Coming to this event, was the idea to just play one day all along, or did you decide you played really well the first day and that was enough?

Dennis Smith: Initially I didn’t want to play too much. I was going to play a game and then skip one. But my coach called in and he shut it down. I just do what he tells me to do. [Smith would end up returning on day 3 after initially deciding to shut it down after day 1.]

NBADraft.net: I think the scouts may have been surprised to see you playing without any sleve or protection on your knee. And I think that’s a real positive. You played really well, showing a lot of burst. How quickly did you get that back after rehabbing and then playing again?

Dennis Smith: I got cleared to go about 10 weeks ago. I had a majority of it back about three weeks before then. My workouts were strenuous. I was attacking it every day, and I started doing a little bit of yoga. Just trying to prepare myself to never being injured again, and it’s gone well so far.

NBADraft.net: Did you feel like you had some rust at Chris Paul camp?

Dennis Smith: I felt pretty good at Chris Paul. But I wasn’t fully in shape, and I’m not fully in shape now. I don’t want to be in shape now. But I’ll be there by the time the season starts. It’s just about getting in shape, everything else is taken care of.

NBADraft.net: What expectations do you have for next season. What are your goals?

Dennis Smith: To win games. That’s the main thing. I want to come in and win.

NBADraft.net: Do you think you guys have a shot to be a final four team at NC State? Is that a goal or…

Dennis Smith: You gotta just take it one game at a time. One step at a time. But I believe we can win a National Championship. I think everyone on our team believes that. Whenever you have people that believe, you always have a shot.

NBADraft.net: For somebody that hasn’t seen you play before, how do you describe your game?

Dennis Smith: I’ll do whatever it takes to win. We fell short yesterday, at my hands I missed the shot. And that’s a game and shot that I wish I could get back. I am a competitor, and pride myself in that.

NBADraft.net: Do you pride yourself in being a vocal leader? Do you think that’s important?

Dennis Smith: I don’t really go around talking to everyone. But when I’m on the court I need to be vocal. And I’m the point guard so it’s kind of easy.

NBADraft.net: You seem to be a natural leader. Is that something that just comes naturally to you?

Dennis Smith: Yeah. It really is. Since I was in elementary school like kindergarten or first grade, I could always make my peers feel like my way was the right way. It’s something that has translated up til now.

NBADraft.net: Were there any players growing up that you kind of looked up to?

Dennis Smith: Growing up, Chris Paul, because he was always the best point guard in the league. And when Derrick Rose came into the league, that was my favorite player, and he still is now. I watch him a lot. And Damian Lillard.

NBADraft.net: Going back to the knee injury. Do you feel that for some the summer can be too long and it’s over exerting themselves, or was that more of just a freak thing that happened?

Dennis Smith: That to me is just overcoming adversity. And I blame myself. I didn’t prepare myself properly. I didn’t hit the weights hard enough in high school. I’m on it now. And I’m trying to prevent an injury from happening again.

NBADraft.net: Is being the number one pick a goal of yours?

Dennis Smith: I’m sure that everybody wants to be the number one guy. I’m going to do what I can to prove that I’m the best player.

NBADraft.net: What’s the biggest thing that you need to work on?

Dennis Smith: Everything. Playing physical. My shot. Handles. Staying sound defensively. Staying vocal. That’s going to be real key for me this season and on the next level. So, it’s everything. Being sound all around.

NBADraft.net: And your recruitment. What was it about North Carolina State that sealed the deal and made them the choice for you?

Dennis Smith: I’m big on loyalty and relationships. And they were at every game that they could be at. The head coach (Mark Gottfried) was at every game he could be at, during the live period. And that meant a lot to me. And he was the only coach that did that.

NBADraft.net: And finally talk a little bit about the team at NC State for next season. Any players coming in and teammates coming back that you’re excited about, and how good you think you’ll be.

Dennis Smith: We’re going to be really good. Last year we ended up better than we appeared on paper. There were some reasons we didn’t perform to our ability at all times. And I believe I can clean a lot of those things up. And we have Terry Henderson and Torin Dorn coming in. They sat out with me last year. Also (freshman Turkish power forward) Omer Yurtseven, who I met him on his official visit. We talk pretty much every day. Everyone is very close, like brothers. I feel like we’ll have great camaraderie. So we should be really good.

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