Oklahoma State Cowboys point guard Marcus Smart, almost unanimously considered a top-five prospect in the 2013 NBA draft, is returning to college for his sophomore year.
Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday night that Smart is returning to school for his sophomore year following a round of 64 flameout in the NCAA tournament, in which his Oklahoma State Cowboys were torched by the Oregon Ducks 68-55.
Smart averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season as a freshman, and brought home the Wayman Tisdale award, which is given to the best freshman in the country. Smart was also named a second-team All-American.
Smart's decision to stay in school further stacks the 2014 draft class, which is considered one of the most loaded in draft history. If Smart leaves after his sophomore season, which is expected, he could potentially be joined by Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, and Andrew and Aaron Harrison. Randle and the two Harrisons are committed to Kentucky, while Wiggins, the consensus top recruit in the country, is deciding between Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State and Kansas. Parker has committed to Duke.
DraftExpress.com had Smart projected as the third overall pick in this year's draft, so returning to school is a risk for him. Smart drew rave reviews from Walker Beeken in a profile on DraftExpress.com.
"Smart has an extremely well-rounded, polished skill set for a player his age to go along with very good scoring and passing instincts, showing the ability create his own shot or find the open man, as he's averaging a solid 5.9 assists per-40, against 3.9 turnovers. He also possesses excellent intangibles, having earned the reputation for being a tremendous teammate, leader, and competitor, who led his team to back-to-back Texas state championships in high school."
As he enters his second year in school Smart will look to improve his 3-point shooting, a crucial part of any NBA guard's game. He only connected on 29 percent of his 3-point tries last season.
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