FAYETTEVILLE -- Nick Smith, a University of Arkansas freshman guard from North Little Rock who has been on campus since June, got one more high school accolade this week.
USA Today announced that it has named Smith its national high school basketball player of the year for the 2021-22 season.
Reggie Williams, a first-team All-American at Georgetown who played 10 years in the NBA, was USA Today's inaugural player of the year in 1983. Other winners have included LeBron James (twice), Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Alonzo Mourning, Dwight Howard, Kenny Anderson and Ben Simmons.
Smith is the first Razorback to win the USA Today award, though 6-7 Corliss Williamson, a two-time All-American who led Arkansas to the 1994 national championship, was the Gatorade high school player of the year in 1992 as a senior at Russellville.
Smith finished first from a list of 24 nominees compiled by USA Today that included another Arkansas freshman, 6-3 guard Derrian Ford from Magnolia, and 7-0 center Kel'el Ware, who also played at North Little Rock and is a freshman at Oregon.
The three finalists for the USA Today award along with Smith were 7-2 Dereck Lively from Westtown (Pa.) and 6-8 Brandon Miller from Cane Ridge (Tenn.). Lively is a freshman at Duke and Miller is a freshman at Alabama.
The 6-5 Smith previously was selected as the nation's No. 1 recruit by 247Sports.com, the No. 1 point guard by Rivals.com and the No. 1 shooting guard by ESPN.com. He is one of three McDonald's All-Americans in the Razorbacks' freshman class along with 6-7 guard Anthony Black and 6-7 forward Jordan Walsh.
Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman was asked last week about the similarities he sees between Smith and Moses Moody, a 6-6 guard who starred for Arkansas as a freshman during the 2020-21 season and played as a rookie with the NBA champion Golden State Warriors last season after being the No. 14 overall draft pick.
"I think that both those guys have a lot of similarities," Musselman said. "You know, a pro mentality of you've got to work, you've got to improve your craft.
"Don't be late, put in extra work, be vocal, competitiveness, all those things.
"Moses Moody, he was never late – not for one thing. He wasn't even close to being late for one thing in the full year that he was here. He was early for practice. He got reps up every day. We see the same thing with Nick."
Smith, projected as top-five pick in the 2023 draft by several websites, averaged 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season in leading North Little Rock to the Class 6A state championship.
"I got recruited to be a combo guard here, and Coach Muss believes that I can do pretty much everything on the floor," Smith said last week after the Razorbacks began practicing for a foreign tour. "I can get my teammates involved, I can score the basketball. I have the ability to do both.
"I know I've got a lot of guys that can also put the ball in the basket, so it's not all about me. Sometimes, I might have an open shot, but I might have to swing one more to get an even better shot.
"So just knowing that coming in is a good thing to have.
"In high school, sometimes you have to take more of the load, but in college, going to the next level, you don't really have to do that. So it just takes a toll off of me and makes the game easier."
The Razorbacks are in the midst of 10 full-scale practices allowed under NCAA rules in preparation for their tour of Spain and Italy. They leave on Saturday and will play four exhibition games starting on Aug. 9 in Valencia.
"I would say it's been a good transition from high school to college," Smith said. "Coach Muss knows what he's doing and the coaching staff knows what it's doing."
Musselman previously was an NBA head coach with the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
"He knows what he's doing when it comes to the next level," Smith said. "So, just trying to get better each and every day, just trying to lead the team and try to get some wins down the line."
Musselman said in June that in summer workouts Smith has demonstrated strong leadership skills.
"For a lot of freshmen it's just a huge jump to go from a high school practice to a college practice," Musselman said. "But he's been phenomenal from a leadership standpoint."