There’s some serious optimism coming out of Raleigh, and if you’ve watched NC State play you’ll know exactly why. Freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is the real deal and it’s taken him just 13 nonconference games to create a hype we haven’t seen since the likes of Chris Paul and Stephon Marbury.

Four years ago, Smith was a little-known freshman at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, N.C. – playing back-up point guard on a senior-laden team. A year later, he set a new school record with his 42-point performance in front of Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried. The next morning, Gottfried and NC State offered.

Smith led Trinity to the state championship that season and continued to shine as a junior, averaging 22.2 points per game and receiving North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year honors. A torn ACL on August 7, 2015 cost Smith his senior season, but the crazy thing is tearing his ACL may have ended up being a blessing in disguise for Smith. It opened the door to an opportunity that may not have been an option before the injury.

In December, Smith graduated from early from Trinity and a month later he enrolled at NC State to start rehabbing his knee and working out with the team. It’s safe to say that extra time with the program has paid off, as Smith has shown a level of poise and play far beyond his freshman status in the first month and half of the season.

Smith ranks fifth in the ACC in points (18.9) and steals (1.9), and leads the conference in assists (6.3). He’s dropped at least 21 points six times already this season, including a monster 30 point, seven assist, and six rebound game in late November against Loyola.

But the biggest headline generator for Smith has been his Russell Westbrook-esque dunks that are becoming more and more common. His next-level athleticism was well known coming out of high school, but my goodness, this kid attacks the rim like it’s personal.

 

 

While we’re on the Russell Westbrook comparison train, Westbrook averaged 3.4 points and 0.7 assists in just nine minutes a game as a freshman. Smith is averaging 18.9 and 6.3 in 33.6 minutes.

Even the areas where scouts saw room for improvement in Smith’s game – Three-point shooting and not being a traditional, distributing point guard – seem to be coming together at an insanely quick rate. His 39.7 three-point percentage (23-58) ranks in the top 10 of ACC players with at least 50 attempts, and in the Wolfpack’s most recent game against Rider, Smith dished out a season-high 16 assists to go with his 19 points.

At this rate, Smith has the potential to be one of the best freshman point guards the ACC has ever seen. As conference play gets under way, expect the other weapons on NC State to benefit from opposing teams’ increased focus on containing Smith. The Wolfpack have plenty of talent, and with a player like Smith running the show, they can be a legitimate threat in ACC and postseason play.