Louisville junior guard Russ Smith will forego his senior season with the newly-crowned national champions and enter the NBA draft, his father told Sports Illustrated Tuesday. Russ Smith Sr. said his son "did it all" during his college career, just a day after Louisville's 82-76 victory over Michigan for the NCAA championship.
Smith was the Cardinals' leading scorer in a season that also saw the team win the Big East title and earned him an all-conference first-team selection to propel his draft stock before the 2013 NBA draft in June. Smith Sr. said his son will officially announce his decision next week.
The 21-year-old junior guard averaged 18.9 points this season, and averaged 23.3 points in six NCAA tournament games. However, the Cardinals' star struggled in the team's title-clinching victory Monday night, missing 13 of 16 shots and finishing with just nine points. Nonetheless, Smith Sr. said of his son, "he's going."
Draftexpress.com projects Smith as the No. 34 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
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