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RCSI: 65 (2007)
Height: 6'8" (203 cm)
Weight: 251 lbs (114 kg)
Position: PF
High School: Mount Zion Christian Academy (North Carolina)
Hometown: Detroit, MI
College: N.C. State
Current Team: N.C. State
Win - Loss: 22 - 14

Articles

Top NBA Draft Prospects in the ACC, Part Five (#21-25)

Walker Beeken
Walker Beeken
Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Kyle Nelson
Kyle Nelson
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Oct 27, 2010, 08:02 pm
Joseph Treutlein

Steadily improving his game over the past three years, Tracy Smith has developed into a very productive player against the toughest competition in the country in the ACC, though there are questions about how his game will translate to the professional level.

Standing 6'8 with decent length, Smith is a power forward through and through, though certainly undersized for the position projecting to the NBA. While he isn't the most powerful or explosive player, he is a good athlete overall, possessing very good quickness and reactiveness along with high levels of coordination and mobility.

On the offensive end, virtually all of Smith's game comes within 10 feet of the basket, as he possesses virtually no perimeter skills aside from an occasional turn-in, face-up drive from the mid-to-high post. He doesn't have much in the form of a jump shot, rarely if ever taking a shot from beyond 15 feet, though this is certainly something he'll want to develop to have a chance in the NBA given the question marks about how the rest of his game will translate.

Operating with his back to the basket, Smith has a very large arsenal of moves, having turnaround jumpers off either shoulder, a nice right-handed hook shot, the ability to occasionally finish with his left hand, and a nice ability to create separation on all of his moves with rangy footwork. He has good instincts in the post to go along with toughness and an ability to finish through contact, though his touch is inconsistent and his accuracy falls off considerably outside of 5 feet. Beyond that, he shows major problems finishing over NBA-caliber defenders, not doing well against taller, stronger, longer opponents with either his finesse or power game. Because his post game accounts for nearly all of his offense at this level, this is extremely concerning projecting to the pros.

Smith is also a capable finisher on cuts, pick-and-rolls, and offensive rebounds, showing a high activity level and a good second bounce, but he's definitely more comfortable operating on than off the ball at this stage of his development, and his lack of elite physical attributes or rebounding ability make it tough to see him developing into the type of player whose game revolves around this at the next level.

Defensively, Smith shows a very good fundamental base in the post along with a good basketball IQ as well, doing a good job moving his feet and understanding how to compensate for his size in other ways, using a forearm to get into bigger opponents and keeping his arms outstretched to make shots against him as difficult as possible. Still, he is highly prone to being scored upon by bigger, stronger opponents, just not having the strength or length to match up. On the perimeter, his fundamental base is much weaker and he looks very uncomfortable at times, rarely being put into the situation, though he does seem to have the raw foot speed to develop into a better defender there in time. On the boards, Smith doesn't put up the kind of numbers a player with his physical profile needs to from an NBA perspective, and getting better in that area needs to be one of his priorities.

Looking ahead, Smith is probably on the outside looking in in terms of getting drafted unless he can make significant progress in some of the weaker areas of his game, namely rebounding and showing a perimeter jump shot. Without elite physical attributes and not having much outside of his low-post game, which is just good not great in its own right, it's going to be an uphill climb for him to make it in the NBA, but he should get opportunities in summer league and should be a productive overseas player regardless.