Josh Smith

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

By Peter May

Special to ESPN.com

CHICAGO -- The draft wonks know who he is. By now, if there's an NBA scout or GM who doesn't know who he is, then he should be summarily terminated. Soon, possibly in the next two weeks when the high school all-star games start getting some ink and exposure, a lot of others will know him as well.

His name is Josh Smith and he is coming to an NBA city near you.

The good folks at Indiana might not want to acknowledge that, but Hoosiers head coach Mike Davis would be a delusional dreamer to pencil in the name of the 6-foot-9 Smith into his starting rotation for next season. Smith has a commitment to attend IU after he completes his senior season, er, year, at the Oak Hill Basketball Finishing School. But that commitment won't stand in Smith's way of shaking David Stern's hand next June -- and it will be David Stern's hand, not the hand of Stern's deputy, Russ Granik, who usually calls out the second-round picks.

Smith will be a lottery pick. He may even be a top five pick. NBA personnel chaps attending the practice sessions prior to the Roundball Classic in Chicago were virtually unanimous on that. The game's founder and host, the irrepressible Sonny Vaccaro, said he felt "very safe" in projecting that Smith and the better-known, possible No. 1 overall pick Dwight Howard, would not only be drafted, but would be "franchise guy" type players. That might be a little over the top, but it's not going to do a thing to Smith's already exalted status.

Right now, Smith is playing a diplomatic game of the old weave by saying he'll wait until after all the all-star games to make up his mind. That's sort of like the presidential candidate who "officially announces" for the office months after his "exploratory committee" was established and everyone in the world knew he was running. Smith did admit that he felt he needed to know that he'd likely go among the top seven picks to firm up his decision (a decision that already has basically been made.)

Who is Smith? He's a lefty forward with the nickname JSmooth. More to the point, what is Smith? Think Michael Redd and add about three inches, although without the long-range shooting. Think Toni Kukoc and add muscle and hops while subtracting a couple of inches. Think Lamar Odom, period, or think a left-handed version of Al Harrington. You get the picture.

Smith played this past year at Oak Hill, the fine factory, er, prep school in Godforsaken Mouth of Wilson, Va., that also has sent such fellows as Jerry Stackhouse, Ron Mercer, Rod Strickland, Stephen Jackson and Carmelo Anthony to the NBA. But Smith will join DeSagana Diop as the only Oak Hiller who will go straight from the verdant mountaintop in Virginia to the red carpet in New York on draft night.

The NBA types can't talk about Smith because -- we are not making this up -- he hasn't officially declared yet. Or at least they can't talk about Smith on the record because, good Lord, the kid might read something and actually get an idea or two. Never mind that the Memphis Grizzlies sent a scouting posse to Oak Hill this past season, a posse that included Jerry West. What's Smith supposed to think about that? That they got lost on the way to Richmond? That the Grizzlies are looking for a new site for training camp?

"Josh and Dwight are the (top) two," said Vaccaro, unencumbered by any gag rule or First Amendment restrictions. "They are going to be franchise-type guys."

Asked about his situation, Smith constantly references LeBron James. Many of the soon-to-be high school-to-NBA kids do the same thing, which may not be such a good thing because, as Vaccaro pointed out, "No one here is LeBron." But the kids see what James has done this year and, while (we think) understanding they may not be as skilled, don't see why they need to bother with the niceties of college.

"I might miss out on some great experiences," Smith mused the other day. "But LeBron, he missed it too. Of course you're going to miss some of that excitement and some of that fun, but you're looking towards a higher standard here. You just got to go that way."

THE JOSH SMITH FILE

Position: Forward.

Height: 6-9.

Weight: 220.

Hometown: Smyrna, Ga.

High school: Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

College: Signed with Indiana.

Senior-year stats: 22 ppg, 10 rpg, 4 apg.

Sounds like a guy on the fence, doesn't it? He admitted that his school coach told him "don't miss out on the money or the opportunity."

Smith went on, "LeBron James has helped a lot of (high-school stars) for the future to go out (for the draft) because he's in the NBA and he made a huge impact on that team. They might get into the playoffs because he uplifted (sic) that team and they built around him."

Smith averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks a game for Oak Hill, which was a powerhouse this past season. He's made all the obligatory all-star teams, been the MVP at the high-powered camps and been ranked as the No. 2 player in his class by Bob Gibbons, the guy who tracks these things. Most mock drafts have him in the top 10; most of those drafts will have him higher by the time the draft gets closer, unless Smith contracts a sudden craving for the college life in Bloomington, Ind.

That may still be Davis' fervent hope, but he should know that the toothpaste is out of the tube on this one. There could be as many as 10 high-school kids drafted in the first round this season. For the third time in four years, the No. 1 overall pick could be a high-school kid. (Kenyon Martin may go down in history as the last college senior to be a No. 1 overall selection.)

Howard and UConn's Emeka Okafor are widely rumored to be the first two players on everyone's list. After that, Smith comes into the picture and you can add Peoria, Ill., flash Shaun Livingston into that mix as well. These guys may not be household names yet. But they will be soon. And if the NBA personnel guys are correct about Smith, his name will be known in quite a few households in a very short period of time.

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...eter&id=1767255