Tracy Smith at ACC's Operation Basketball

Oct. 21, 2010

A transcript of NC State senior forward Tracy Smith at Wednesday’s 49th-annual Operation Basketball, held at the Renaissance Suites in Charlotte.

Question: You were one of the top big men in the ACC last year, playing with your back to the basket. This year, you are expected to play the 4 [power forward] this year. How will that affect your game?
Smith: I’m excited about that. I think it’ll be harder for 6-8 or 6-9 guys to stop me in the post. I’m looking forward to that. DeShawn Painter has been working real hard to get better. He’s been working hard on blocking out, everything. Jordan Vandenberg has continued to get better. His best ability is to block shots.

Question: What have you seen from the three freshmen, C.J. Leslie, Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown?
Smith: Some really exciting things. With Ryan Harrow pushing the point and Lorenzo and C.J. on the wings, you might see anything. Somebody might jump out of the gym. They are athletic kids. It’s going to be an exciting year for us and I just can’t wait.

Question: Has Coach Lowe changed in the four years since you have been there?
Smith: Actually, this year, he’s changed a lot. He’s letting us play. He’s not whistling as much. He says he’s going to let us be a running team, as long as we’re in shape. We’ve been working hard on conditioning. I’ve seen a lot more smiles on his face. I think it’ll be a good season.

Question: Do you sense any pressure on him?
Smith: I haven’t thought about any of that. I just told him I thought it is going to be a great year for us.

Question: Why is he smiling so much?
Smith: Because we have a great team. I’m back, Javi Gonzalez is back, the three freshman are coming in. I think it will be hard to stop any of us. It will hard to slow the guards down, especially in transition. We will be more of a running team.

Question: Do guys improve more between their sophomore and junior years, like you did last year?
Smith: I do think you get smarter, your confidence is higher. You get in the zone. My sophomore year, I was still a little nervous about shooting shots that I didn’t think were good shots. My junior year, I left all that in the past. I came out ready to play all the time.

Question: Does it seem like if you only knew then, what you knew now?
Smith: That’s the point of college. You come to learn, a different stage of life.

Question: Richard Howell seems like he has slimmed down some.
Smith: He’s lost about 10-12 pounds. He’s done a good job. He’s ready to play. He’s anxious. He’s working on his jump shot every day and his ball handling.

Question: Scott Wood did a lot of versatile things. Can he be a guy who just sits out on the perimeter and take shots.
Smith: When we’re in practice, it seems like he never misses. When we are playing against him, if he gets a pass, we just throw it out of bounds and go down the court because he always hits them. I think Richard and Scott are going to be great this year.

Question: Does this feel like it’s going to be an NCAA tournament team?
Smith: We definitely think so, with our freshmen and our recruiting class. We just have to keep fighting and never hang our heads.

Question: Anything particular in those last nine games that you did better?
Smith: The six games we won, everybody had a different mindset. We all said it was a new season. We put all the buzzer-beaters behind us. We all played hard, gave their all and left everything on the court. We started getting wins. We played smarter as a team. We watched what we did, we cut down our turnovers. We took care of the ball and played smart.

Question: You have a unique view on C.J. Leslie. What will he be playing.
Smith: I think he’ll be at the 3 and the 4. He is taller than most 3s. He has the ability and skill to play against most 4s. He’s versatile and athletic. He has like a 7-2 wingspan. He’s going to be an exciting player to see this year.

Question: Ryan Harrow is the talker of the group, right?
Smith: Ryan is great. He’s done things with the basketball I’ve never seen done. His dribbling skills are crazy. He has great control with the ball. It’s like he has the basketball on a string.

Question: How about Lorenzo Brown?
Smith: I think he’s ready. I call him “Smooth.” It’s going to be a real exciting year.

Question: How’re things different for you this year.
Smith: Being a senior, I just try to be a leader on the team. I try to keep my head on straight and do positive things, because I know guys are following what I do. I try to be a positive influence on them, so they can learn what it takes.

Question: Are you really going to play the 4? Are you going to take as many 3-pointers as Dennis Horner did from that position last year?
Smith: I don’t know about shooting the 3-ball. But as far as putting the ball on the floor and putting up my 15-foot jump shot that will be more my game this year instead of playing with my back straight to the basket. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it.

Question: Can Richard play the 5?
Smith: I think Richard and I will rotate with each other. You might see Richard at the 3 this year. He can play it. He’s a great passer. You might see him there a little bit. We have Jordan Vandenberg and DeShawn who are going to be the 5s.

Question: Coach always says players determine playing time. How do you think that will play out since you have so many more players?
Smith: Everything will show itself in practice. How hard you run. How good you play on defense. How many loose balls you dive for. Those are the things Coach Lowe looks for. Just give your all. Don’t take any seconds off.

Question: Is there some urgency to this season as far as his future?
Smith: I know we haven’t been doing as well as we could. I think this year, he’s a little more excited. Everybody’s watching. We’re going to play hard and play together and show everybody we can play in his coaching style.

Question: Talking about the past, you have never been to the NCAA Tournament this year. What makes this program ready for a turnaround?
Smith: It has been awhile. I haven’t been since I got here. I really want the experience before we leave. I really think we can do that. I try to be a leader and talk to the guys. I told them they have to come in with a new mindset. You can’t take any days off. You have to give it your all and play as hard as you can.

Question: It’s a big turnaround, being picked to be in the top two or three in the conference.
Smith: With the team we have, I think we’re going to be great. We have threats in every position. We have depth everywhere. Even our bench looks pretty good.

Question: Talk a little more about Ryan.
Smith: He can pass the ball. He can see behind the back of his head. He’s a smart player. With the talent he has around him, he can be very good. It’s hard to stay on him one-on-one. He is not the biggest thing around, but he is pretty tough, I can tell you that.

Question: So, be honest: has CJ blocked your shot yet?
Smith: We’ve been on the same team most of the time. He’s blocked my shot a couple of times in pickup games, from weakside help. But not straight up.

Question: What did you work on this summer to improve your game?
Smith: I worked on 15-foot jumpshots. Dribbling skills. Facing up. Just reading double teams. I worked on taking care of the ball and finding the open man. This summer has been very productive. I did my best this summer to expand my game.

Question: Do you think you will see fewer double-teams this year because of the talent around you?
Smith: I think to start off I’ll see a lot of double-teams, but I will see fewer as time goes on, because of my improved passing ability and the players around me. I think I’ll get free eventually.

Question: Was there ever any doubt that you were coming back this season?
Smith: I knew deep down inside that it was 100 percent certain I was coming back to school. I put my name in the NBA draft to get my name out there and to get some feedback on what I needed to improve. It was definitely 100 percent sure I was coming back.

Question: What did they tell you to work on?
Smith: All the things I worked on this summer: my jumpshot, my dribbling skills, my strength.

Question: Who is the strongest guy on the team?
Smith: I’d say, probably Richard Howell. He’s solid. He’s so strong, upper body and lower body.

Question: What did you learn about this team in the off-season?
Smith: We played a lot of pickup this summer. It was very competitive. Guys played hard. I saw some things I was excited about. I think we’re going to be very good as a team. Guys were playing together. Guys were picking each other when they were down. Everybody was on the same page. We are ready to change the program around.

Question: C.J. Leslie was always around the program. Did you ever doubt that he was going to come here to school?
Smith: Deep down, I knew he was going to go to State. He just wanted to check all his options. I think he knows where his heart is and he wanted to stay home near his family. I definitely knew NC State was going to be his choice.

Question: Did you help give him a sales pitch?
Smith: I just told him we wanted him to come here, that I would love to play with him. We knew we had Ryan and Lorenzo coming. I think those three are the key pieces to the puzzle that we have been missing. Everybody’s ready to play.

Question: You have an awesome beard. How long have you been sculpting it?
Smith: I actually cut it after the season last year and starting letting it grow back. I think I’m going to start letting it grow longer for the season. I think I play better with it. The only thing about it is that a lot of sweat drops off of it. But you are going to sweat in basketball. I am going to keep letting it grow.

Question: Is there anyone you modeled it after?
Smith: I actually just let it grow because my facial hair grows back very fast. I got tired of going to the barber shop every week to get it shaped up. I wanted to let it grow out. The games I had it last year, I played well. It’s just something new.

Question: Do you expect your minutes to do down?
Smith: Maybe. I haven’t really thought about that much yet. Whatever coach wants me to play.

Question: Do you think Coach Lowe is more relaxed in practice
Smith: He is very confident about the team he has coming in.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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