“IT MEANS EVERYTHING” Nolan Smith’s breakthrough season has storybook ending
By Nolan Smith Junior, Duke ’11
When that last shot went up, I glanced and had to look away. If it was going in, I didn’t want to see it. I waited for the crowd’s reaction and turned to the Duke fans. I looked at that sea of blue and I saw their arms go up.
Yessir!! My teammates and coaches were so excited. My mom and my family were out there, and I saw tears coming down their faces knowing how special it was for father and son to win in the same city. It means everything to me.
Looking back on that moment, I think about how hard it was to do it and all the work that we put in to get it done -- all the hard labor that we put in during the summertime to become a together team and win a championship.
Our team was so close, mainly because we did things off the court -- really starting with the workouts in the summertime with the ROTC. That was something that none of us had done and was very challenging. It really taught us a lot about fighting for one another and being a unit, being one on the court. We took that from there, and we won on and off the court all year long.
We knew it’s really not the way you start, it’s the way you finish. Everybody did everything they could to stay fresh, stay in great shape all year, because we didn’t want to get tired down the stretch. We started this year off losing a tough game to NC State, on the road to Georgia Tech. We knew that together we were going to have to get better from there, and we did.
We had the best seniors, and they led us from day one. One of our standards was one that Lance said, and that was, “have a final mentality.” When he said that, from that day forward, we just played with that mentality.
Our experience definitely helped us throughout this season. When games got tight and we were down, we found a way to get a win. To give you an example -- the game at Miami -- we were down 12 at halftime but kept after it. We’re a tough team, and we stayed poised all year long. That showed in the NCAA Tournament versus teams like Baylor and Butler in their hometowns.
When you look around at other programs and teams throughout the years, you ask, “Well, who won it?” I can look at the different programs that I follow, and I can call myself a winner. We can all call ourselves winners. I definitely feel honored that I’ll be mixed with some of the great players and teams ever here at Duke.
It still feels unreal, you know? I’m trying to soak it all in. Going to the White House, the Governor’s Mansion, everything we’ve had the opportunity to do -- it’s been very exciting.
When I go to the mall, go out to eat, go to the gas station, I’m always getting love. A lot of fans are coming up to me and saying thanks, and I just thank them back.
181 WORTHY CHAMPS
NOLAN SMITH
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