Marcus Smart was an afterthought for the 2014 NBA draft's No. 1 pick. When Oklahoma State's point guard-in-training opted to remain in Stillwater this past offseason, there was a gasp among the college basketball community and also the NBA fraternity.
"Is he crazy?" one NBA general manager texted me moments after hearing the decision.
"He just cost himself a ton of money," another one told me at the time.
Smart would have earned in excess of $2.9 million this season if he had been selected in the top five picks this past June, but he has always bet on himself -- and it usually has worked in his favor.
Smart sat and watched, waited his turn as the freshmen -- Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Julius Randle -- received all the hype early in the season. The Champions Classic featured all three, and none disappointed. The 2013-14 college hoops campaign would be all about The Frosh.
But exactly one week after the trio (along with Arizona's Aaron Gordon) had created a national firestorm and quickly become the face of college basketball, Smart made a statement.
"Don’t forget about me."
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound point guard scored a career-high 39 points against a ranked Memphis team that was supposed to boast the best backcourt in the nation. However, it was how he did it that had everyone in the NBA community talking about whether he had legitimately entered the equation for the No. 1 overall selection.
"Why not?" asked one high-ranking NBA executive. "If someone needs a point guard, why wouldn’t you take him first?"
Smart has been widely regarded as a non-shooter throughout his career. When I watched him in the summer, he'd attack the basket and get whatever he wanted in the lane, almost thriving by finishing through contact. He rarely shot the ball from deep, because he rarely needed to do so.
Last season, though, Smart took plenty of deep jumpers (131 in total) -- and made only 29 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
"If he could just shoot," one NBA GM told me prior to Smart's announcement that he would return for his sophomore year. "I just don’t know how good he’ll be in the league because he's not a great athlete, and he can't shoot it.”
However, Smart is a worker -- and he's also cognizant of what people say about him. He took the constructive criticism, worked all summer on his perimeter shot and his floor game and has come back with confidence that he can make shots from deep.
"My shot has definitely gotten better," Smart told me after an October practice in Stillwater. "That’s one of the main reasons I came back, along with working on becoming a better point guard."
And leaving college on a higher note than an early NCAA tournament exit.
Smart is a winner. The NBA guys love his intangibles. Billy Donovan and Shaka Smart -- who have coached him in international competition the past couple of summers -- rave about Smart. Heck, everyone does. He's a rare breed in this day and age, someone who leads with both his words and his actions. He goes hard all the time, whether it's diving on the floor in practice or playing both ends of the court each and every game.
"He's the only guy in this draft that can dominate the game on both ends of the floor," said one NBA scout who was in attendance for Smart's elite performance against Memphis.
Smart made 5 of 10 shots from beyond the arc against Josh Pastner's Tigers. He didn’t just make them, but it was how he took them that was different from in the past. There was no hesitation. The same confidence he displays with the rest of his game was apparent when he pulled up from long distance.
However, NBA types want to see more. Could the performance against Memphis be a fluke? Will he be a subpar shooter for the remainder of the season?
Smart played South Florida on Monday night and made just 1-of-5 shots from long range. He's shooting 36 percent from deep this season, but is just 6-of-21 in the four games besides the win over Memphis.
"If he shoots the ball like that and is making 3s, he becomes a guy that has to be in the equation for the No. 1 pick," Pastner told me.
"He firmly established himself in the equation," an NBA scout added.
Ironically, Smart has an outside shot to go No. 1.
Without a consistent perimeter shot, Smart is likely an average NBA point guard. He's powerful and can finish at and around the rim, but he's not ultra-explosive and doesn't possess terrific speed such as a Russell Westbrook or a healthy Derrick Rose.
The best guess here is that Smart makes a significant improvement in his perimeter shot because of his work ethic. His shot isn't broken. He's not Rajon Rondo from deep. He just needs reps and confidence.
"He’s special," said South Florida assistant Mike Wells, who spent nearly two decades working in the NBA. "Loved his poise and the way he talks to his teammates. I think he’s kind of like Dwyane Wade. He needs to work on his explosiveness off the bounce, get more separation from the defense, and also work on running pick-and-rolls on the sideline. He's strong in the air with the ball like all good pros that can score. He has great strength and his shot looks good.”
"He’s special," Bulls head coach Stan Heath added. "He’s a great leader, is relentless and is a winner."
Right now, Smart isn't just the best player in college basketball. He's also showing NBA folks exactly why he returned to college for another season.
"I wanted to get better," he told me a few months back. "I don’t think I was ready for the NBA last summer."
He looks ready now.