Here’s a few recent quotes from Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman talking about 2023 NBA Draft prospect Nick Smith Jr.’s unfortunate knee injury and incredible upside.
(via Aaron Torres Sports Podcast/hat tip to Andrew Ellis of HawgSports.com):
Gives insight on the preseason injury and how he was playing before that:
“If you have an early draft pick, you’ve really got to evaluate maybe the individual workouts. I know the agent workout that happens for their Pro Day. You really have to put a lot of stock in that because in reality, Nick Smith got hurt in our European Tour. He got hurt in our fourth game, which was our last game, and he was playing unbelievable before that.
“And then the injury was just kind of there, so I don’t think Arkansas Razorback fans, I don’t think that college basketball fans, and I certainly don’t think NBA evaluators got to see what they’re going to see in the future.”
Discusses this past season and why Smith Jr. is going to surprise people in the NBA:
“He was in a tough situation,” Musselman said. “It was a team that was winning. It was a team that had kind of formed semi-identities; individual players had kind of formed roles. So, Nick coming in and out of the lineup, especially for a freshman, that’s a really hard adjustment.
“You’re talking about an ultra competitor in practice, and NBA teams are going to see that. They’re going to see a player that really likes to practice and loves the game. A great competitor and a guy that I think that’s really got incredible upside. He’s going to surprise a lot of people because of the season that he had dealing with an injury.”
