2011 NBA Draft: Why Duke Blue Devils' Nolan Smith Is a Great Choice

Prior to the arrival of Kyrie Irving this past season, Duke fans lamented the absence of a scoring point guard since Jay Williams. It was taken for granted that Nolan Smith could be that guy.

From day one, the focus was not on his defensive awareness or his shooting touch, two of his greatest strengths, but whether Smith was a point guard or not? Justifiable, as Greg Paulus was the starting point guard at the time and seemed more to be regressing rather than improving.

Despite all of his accomplishments in college, it's back to square one for Smith. Now that he is considering his professional potential, everyone wants to know can he be a shooting guard or a point guard. The following is an extract from Draft.net regarding the weaknesses of Smith:

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Smith's biggest obstacle at the next level will be trying to create separation between him and his defender ... He lacks explosiveness, and therefore takes longer to execute his move and get by his defender... He's not a dynamic athlete, which limits his upside considering he already struggles in the one on one game... Though he shot a very respectable 39 percent from downtown last season, he will need to continue improving his outside game in order to make him more of a threat offensively ... Defensively he might have trouble guarding NBA 2 guards, limiting his services ...

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Gary Neal, George Hill, Monta Ellis, Jeff Teague, Nate Robinson or Daniel Gibson are all guys that can fit this profile (except for Monta Ellis and the explosiveness), but they have all found a niche in their respective teams.

None of them can be described as a playmaker though George Hill does a pretty good impression at times for San Antonio Spurs.

This reminds me of another guard that went on to do exceptionally well in the NBA, despite his later issues off the court. Lack of explosiveness, can’t get by his defender, not a point guard but too short for a shooting guard and yet, Gilbert Arenas dispelled all those myths when he became an All-Star and at the height of his career averaged 29.3 points a game (2006).

Nolan Smith is no Gilbert Arenas, but when it comes to the draft, there are only a handful of guys who can dominate the NBA from day one (Shaquille O’Neal). A lot more fall in to the bust column than solid contributors, but there are a few who sit comfortably in the grey area.

Smith is one of these guys, and he can flourish under the right circumstances.

He is the kind of player a fan base would have no problems supporting. He makes time to sign Duke memorabilia for all his fans.  He is very humble and likable. Plus, he strives to be better at all times.

He came to Duke a question mark and not only left a champion, but he led the Blue Devils in scoring, 20.6, and assists, 5.1, his senior year along with 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals.

Similar numbers to Jay Williams’ last year at Duke when he averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds. The Duke fan base should not be worrying about the next Williams; they should be wondering when the next Nolan Smith will arrive.