LOOK: Former Duke assistant Nolan Smith spotted in Louisville gear
After making the move from Duke to Louisville this offseason, assistant coach Nolan Smith is back on the recruiting trail in his new colors. As AAU basketball events pop up across the country, Kenny Payne’s top assistant is now wearing red instead of blue on the sideline.
On Friday night, Nolan Smith stopped in to watch some of the top 2023 and 2024 recruits in the country and was seen wearing the Louisville Cardinals logo for the first time in public.
Smith, 33, played four seasons at Duke from 2007 to 2011 – averaging 13.4 points over the span of his career with the Blue Devils. He was selected 21st overall in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and played a couple of NBA seasons before taking the overseas route.
Smith joined Duke’s staff in February of 2016 as the special assistant before being promoted to director of basketball operations and player development in March of 2018. He became an assistant coach under Krzyzewski in April of 2021.
Nolan Smith joins Louisville staff
In hopes of restoring Louisville‘s men’s basketball program, new head coach Kenny Payne is off to a pretty strong start at his alma mater. While Payne has already convinced three Cardinals’ players to return for next season, the coach is now starting to assemble his inaugural staff.
After a successful run on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke, Smith is now set to return home and help Payne build back Louisville’s program. His father, Derek, was also a standout players for the Cardinals from 1978-82 and won a national championship in 1980.
Although Nolan Smith played at Duke, he grew up in Louisville after watching his father’s NBA career. The return home provides a promotion and a big leap forward in what is widely considered one of the fastest rising careers in college basketball.