POSSE - Marcus Goes to College

S E O G S U C R MA LLEGE O C TO D STAYS N A —

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DECEMBER 2013

P HO T OG

R

RTER cWHO ELD M E D FI Y WA ATER W S T ORY B E BRUC A P H Y BY

MARCUS SMART

REMEMBERS HIS FIRST TRIP TO GALLAGHER-IBA ARENA WELL — BUT HE ADMITS IT’S NOT AN EXPERIENCE HE LOOKS BACK ON WITH FONDNESS. “I came here with my AAU team in 2004,” Smart said. “I remember it was too crowded. I was a little kid at the time, and I really couldn’t see because everybody was standing the whole game. But I can still remember that atmosphere, how intense it was and how it was so amped and hyped up in there.

“I DEFINITELY NEVER THOUGHT I’D WANT TO BE BACK AT OKLAHOMA STATE.”

But a decade later, Oklahoma State and Gallagher-Iba is where Smart is calling home for a second year, something most thought would never happen but Cowboy fans are sure glad he did.

And once again, those orange-and-black clad fans are filling up OSU basketball’s famed arena, thanks in large part to Smart and his teammates, whose success last season delivered good on a promise to “bring the rowdy back!” to the home of Cowboy hoops.

Smart’s role in helping return GIA to the “rowdiest arena in the country” cannot be understated.

In his first season in Stillwater, Smart established himself as not only the BIG

12 CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR but an ALL-AMERICAN and the BEST FRESHMAN IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL.

Along the way, his will to win and passion to get that done led OSU to 24 victories and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.

It also revived OSU’s fan base, making sold-out contests the norm again, just like those that Smart remembers from his first trip to Stillwater.

“We were ecstatic — it was an amazing feeling,” said Smart of the rejuvenation of OSU’s fan support last season. “I was here in 2004 when we had the Graham brothers (Joey and Stephen), Tony Allen and (John) Lucas so I’d seen the rowdy.

“To walk in here that first game and look into the stands, you’re just like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to play anymore.’ That just really didn’t sit well. But for us to come out and do the things we did last year and change that, have people come out and support us and bring the rowdy back,

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it was a great feeling.”

The rowdy is expected to return with fervor during the 2013-14 season, with coach Travis Ford’s Cowboys ranked among the nation’s best in the preseason — and that of course coincides with a decision Smart made last April.

Predicted by most to be a top 5 pick — and possibly the No. 1 pick overall — in last summer’s NBA Draft, Smart made the uncommon choice to return to school for his sophomore season.

That decision sent shockwaves throughout the college basketball and NBA landscapes, and while it wasn’t easy to make, the choice to go against the grain was not as surprising as you might think.

“There were days that I’d play devil’s advocate,” Ford said. “There were days

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DECEMBER 2013

I could tell (Smart) was wanting to stay and I was like ‘Are you sure? You’re gonna be this pick.’ I really wanted him to think about it and really wanted to pick his brain to make sure he was thinking about the right things.

“This went on for several weeks. He talked to a lot of people. And when it came down close to the decision, I kind of knew what he was going to do. I FELT LIKE ALL ALONG HE WANTED TO STAY IN COLLEGE FROM THE BEGINNING.

There was always the pressures from many different sources on the outside saying ‘You’ve got to do it, how could you not?!’

Those things are natural for people to say.

But I knew where Marcus’s heart was and knew the type of person he was.

“He told me the night after he won the

Wayman Tisdale Award, and his rationalization for it was just unbelievable. He told me, ‘I WANT TO HAVE FUN, AND I’M ENJOYING COLLEGE. I WANT TO BE WITH MY TEAMMATES. I enjoy playing for you. I’m not passing up the NBA, I’m just putting it off for a year. There’s things I need to work on, and I can’t get these days back.’

“He had all the right reasons. It was really impressive how he handled the whole situation. He did what he wanted to do — he didn’t let outside distraction or peer pressure affect his decision. And that’s tough for anybody, especially an 18-, 19-year old, to make their own decision. And he was 100 percent convinced that he wanted to come back.”

FRAN FRASCHILLA, an ESPN college basketball analyst who has known and watched Smart play for the better part of the last decade, also wasn’t surprised by the decision.

“Marcus has always bid on himself, and he’s almost always won,” Fraschilla said.

“Whether he’s the third pick or the sixth pick or the eighth pick (in the NBA Draft) next year, it really won’t matter. Will he leave a little bit of money on the table in the short term? Absolutely. But assuming he has the kind of year we expect him to have, he’s gonna have an incredible impact on college basketball before he leaves.”

Smart knows there are plenty of people who can’t fathom turning down millions of dollars to live out a dream most will never accomplish, but he says it’s easy to deflect.

and also included the death of Smart’s older brother, TODD WESTBROOK, when Smart was just nine-years old.

“Growing up, I wouldn’t say I had a childhood — I was forced to grow up earlier than I expected,” Smart said. “In AAU ball I was constantly gone — I never really got to go spend weekends with my friends, go out, go swimming, take vacations in the summer because my summer was full of basketball and travelling.

“Once you get in college, you get to experience living on your own and that fun and the highlights of the years that you’re here. Those are things you don’t get back once they’re gone. You have to cherish those moments while they’re

him. And knowing those two words helps you understand why it should never have shocked anyone that he bypassed NBA riches for college life.

Those words?

COMPETITOR. WINNER.

“I’ve never been around a player — ever — as a player or a coach that plays as hard as he does every single day; there are no off days,” Ford said. “He is competing every day the same and with one goal in mind — to beat you. Before a game, after a game, three games in a row — you would never know any different with Marcus Smart.

“I don’t know many players at all that go do that. So he quickly gained everybody’s respect by doing that.”

How quickly? When Ford was asked to relay a story highlighting Smart’s competitiveness and drive, he tells a story from an exhibition game during OSU’s summer FORD S I V A R trip to Spain in 2012.

T H — COAC “(Smart) made some crazy passes — threw one out of bounds, threw a lob that hit the top of here, and you don’t want any the backboard — and I jumped on him regrets when you’re gone.” really quick. And he probably hadn’t been The other factor? That’s easy to pinjumped on too many times,” Ford said. “A point ­— March 21, 2013. lot of players will get upset or pout, but That date marked the opening round of he said, ‘Alright, I’m gonna show him!’ the NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. In “He picked up their guard full court and OSU’S FIRST NCAA TOURNEY GAME SINCE 2010, ripped the guy twice before the other guy Oregon upset the fifth-seeded Cowboys, got past half court. And I quickly realized 68-55. Smart nearly had a double-double you can challenge Marcus, but also he with 14 points and nine rebounds, but he was more upset with himself than he was also committed five turnovers and shot me getting onto him and he was gonna just 5-of-13 from the field. make up for it.

“That’s not who I am,” Smart said. “I “That is the definition to me of a winner didn’t feel like I played to the best of my — a guy that understands ‘I’m gonna make ability, and I felt like I let my team down. mistakes, but I’m gonna make up for them.

That’s not how I wanted to leave and be I’m not gonna dwell on the mistakes and known for.” pout about them, get upset when my Smart’s desire to make amends for how coach yells at me, I’m gonna do somehis freshman season ended led him back thing about it.’ to Cowboy Country, and that should also “And from that point on, I knew this come as no surprise. kid was pretty special.”

Talk to anyone who knows Smart and Smart laughs when recalling Ford’s story there are two words that will almost always — he remembers the moment well. be mentioned when asked to describe

A D N U O R A N E E H E B S A R E D V R E A N H E S V A ’ S “I Y A L P T A H T ” . . .

Y .

A R D E Y E PLA VERY SINGL DOES E “The talk for a long time was ‘How could you turn (the NBA) down?,’ Smart said. “It was stressful going back-andforth in your head, discussing the situation and all the scenarios. But I sat down with my mom and my family, and we figured it out. ONCE I MADE MY DECISION, IT RELIEVED A LOT OF THAT STRESS OFF ME. I obtained a lot of criticism for

it, but at the same time, I obtained a lot of praise and appreciation.

“Whichever decision I made, I would have gotten criticism either way so it really doesn’t bother me much.”

So how exactly did the 19-year old Smart arrive at such a decision? Many

factors were involved, but Smart says two things swayed him most to return to Stillwater.

One of those was a childhood that admittedly wasn’t always void of trouble

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“Most freshmen would have probably gotten down on themselves or gotten kind of mad, but I just took it like I always do,” Smart said. “That’s one of those things and those times where you look deep down and use it as a spark to get you going.

“I made some dumb plays, but I made up for it at the defensive end. When things like that happen, it’s not about how hard

you get knocked down, it’s about how fast you get back up.

“That was instilled in me as a little kid so I’ve been like that my whole life — it comes natural. I do have some days where it’s just like, ‘Man! I don’t know if I can do it today.’

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. Everybody has those lulls where you feel like you hit the wall. But you just have to dig down and find something to get you going, to motivate you to go ahead and give it your all.”

Added Fraschilla, “He’s always had a great IQ for the game and a great competitive spirit that has just been enhanced over time. He was ahead of his time as a high school freshman, especially as far as competitiveness…

“You hate to throw stats out the window because you know he’s going to end up with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, but stats don’t matter with Marcus — it’s how his competitiveness affects the outcome of games. Not just individually but also how his competitiveness rubs off on his teammates.

“The best compliment you can give somebody is that the guy is a winner, and in Marcus’s case, winning is far more important than what the stat line says.”

For Smart, the stat line is usually stacked. Last season, he averaged 15.4

points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game and also set a Big 12 freshman record with 99 steals, averaging

three thefts a contest.

Smart’s all-around game and will to win are a big reason OSU finished 24-9 a year ago, including a 13-5 mark in Big 12 play, which marked the Cowboys’ best showing in 10 years.

“When you watch him play, it’s understandable why an opponent would not like him,” Fraschilla said. “As good a kid as he

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is off the court — as polite and humble as he is — he’s got the killer nature competitively on the court.

“He’s not a popular guy in most Big 12 arenas outside of Stillwater, and it’s because of that competitive nature. He’s always trying to make the extra hustle play, draw the extra charge. He’s one of those guys who you really wouldn’t like if you’re an opposing fan base, but you would absolutely love him if he was wearing your team’s uniform.

“I’ve watched him play games where he’s played poorly for much of a game but then has stepped up big at the end or he’s had a complete impact on the game and you look at the stat line and it’s an average stat line for a good college player.

His impact on a game is not influenced by what the stats say at the end. That’s because of his competitiveness, and his very high basketball IQ. He makes winning plays even though they might not show up in a box score.”

Fraschilla added that Smart’s success as a freshman, which included the aforementioned accolades as well as being a

finalist for two national player of the year honors and the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, did not surprise him in the least.

“I’ve seen him do it at a high level for so long,” Fraschilla said. “He’s always been able to back up with his play on the court the reputation that he’s brought to the court.

“Anytime you watch him play, it’s always

‘Can Marcus win this game? Can he win this individual matchup? How will he help his team win? ’ And then at the end of the

game, you get to the point where you’re no longer surprised by the things he does.”

However, another endearing quality about Smart is that those things he does on the court aren’t something he flaunts.

He’s already accomplished more on the court than most his age — he’s led both the U.S. UNDER-18 AND UNDER-19 TEAMS TO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and last summer he was ONE OF ONLY TWO NON-NBA PLAY-

ERS TO ACCEPT AN INVITATION TO THE 2013 USA MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MINI-CAMP – yet

there is no air of cockiness about him.

DECEMBER 2013

Ford calls Smart one of the most humble and polite individuals he’s ever been around.

“HE WANTS PEOPLE TO FEEL GOOD AROUND HIM; HE GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO MEET PEOPLE, TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE, TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF TO PEOPLE,” Ford said. “It’s refreshing to be around someone who gets as much publicity and notoriety as he does, and it doesn’t go to their head whatsoever.

“Everybody knows he’s a great player, but he’s a better person. He is able to really block out all the publicity stuff and just have fun and be a person who is appreciative of everything, and you don’t find that a lot nowadays. He’s not a guy that’s full of himself. Marcus is about the

right things, and it’s fun to be around him every day.”

Says Fraschilla, “If you don’t know him, you don’t realize how humble he is, how unassuming, how soft-spoken he is — it kind of belies the assassin’s mentality he carries with him on the court. So it’s unique.”

And Smart’s unique approach to fame is something he admits isn’t always easy, what with being the so-called “big man on campus” and all.

“I’ve seen a lot of people that get a lot of praise and take it the other route — they embrace it a little too much and it brings cockiness and backfires on them,” Smart said. “Growing up, some things that happened in my life, put me in a stage to be humble. I’ve seen that just as quickly as it’s given, it can be taken away from you.”

“I’m a regular person like everybody else on campus, but I do understand that I’m set on a pedestal higher than a lot of people on campus just because everybody knows who I am. It’s a good feeling, but at the same time it brings a lot of responsibility. All eyes are on you so you really have to be careful of what you say, what you do, how you act, how you look.

how my actions speak for me in what I do on-and-off the court.

“You have to know what’s best for the team, and you have to take everything with ‘me’ and ‘I’ out of the equation — it has to be ‘we’ and ‘us.’ You have to listen to what the team has to say and put everything before yourself. If you do all that, all the individual accolades will start to roll in.”

Despite having already achieved status as one of the country’s top players, Smart says there is plenty of room for improvement in his game. He shot 40 percent from the field last season, including 29 percent from beyond the three-point arc — both are numbers he wants to improve upon while also becoming a better scorer.

“We’ve challenged him to get a little bit better at everything,” Ford said. “I don’t think there are any true weaknesses in his game, but he can afford to get better in a little bit of everything. Get a little bit better shooting, a little bit better ball handling, a little bit better defensively, a little bit better rebounding and go down the line.

“That’s how we’ve approached it. I don’t think there’s anything he’s lacking in, but in every area, there’s room for improvement.

“HIS GREATEST STRENGTHS ARE HIS LEADERSHIP, HE’S A WINNER, HIS WORK ETHIC IS CONTAGIOUS,

“Sometimes it can get frustrating because I’m still a college kid, but you have to think about the consequences and how people will react to what you do.”

All Smart wants to do is perform at a high level every time he steps on the court. He embraces the leadership role he’s had since he joined the program and says he’s unfazed by the perhaps unrealistic expectations people have for him.

“I’m not really focused on those expectations,” Smart said. “I can only control

HIS PERSONALITY. There’s not many at any level, NBA or anywhere in the world, who can match those things he has.

“And then he is a very good ball handler, great passer, great defender, good rebounder, good shooter. When you mix all those greats in with the goods, you get a really, really special player.”

Smart has already stated that this will be his final season with the Cowboys — he won’t bypass the NBA a second time.

SO WHAT WILL MAKE HIS FINAL SEASON I N ST I L LWAT E R A SUCCESS?

“Knowing that every game we went out there and did everything we could to give ourselves an opportunity to win,” Smart said.

That attitude may be what endears him to the pros the most, Fraschilla said.

“What NBA guys love about him are that he competes from start to finish, he’s got the body and size to handle himself in the league as a young player, he’s going to be low maintenance on-and-off the court, he’s going to be very coachable, he’s going to be serious about his craft and always look for ways to get better,” Fraschilla said. “I’m not sure what kind of NBA career he’ll ultimately end up having — I can’t tell you whether he’s going to be an NBA superstar or just a solid player — but he’s going to be in that league for a long time and probably play on a lot of winning teams. He has a winning personality, winning is in his DNA, and when you play with other great players you want guys like him on your roster.”

No one knows this better than Ford, who now has a new gauge when scouting players to join his program.

“There’s not many Marcus Smarts.

There’s not many people with his ability who think team first, winning first, plays as hard as he does every day, somebody who would make some of the choices he’s made to stay — there’s just not many like him,” Ford said. “But as a coach being around him right now, you start seeing traits that you realize are so important and may be more important when you go out recruiting than even talent sometimes. You really look at that and realize how far the winning ways and personality of somebody can take you.

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“WILL WE EVER FIND OR COACH ANOTHER MARCUS SMART? That’s

the goal, that’s the challenge, and you hope you do.”