Thanks to his championship-winning college playing career, Nolan Smith is as synonymous with Duke basketball as any other player in the 21st century. But long before he was a Blue Devil, Smith was a Louisville Cardinal.
The former ACC player of the year and All-American was born in Louisville, and his father, Derek, starred for the Cardinals and won a national championship in 1980 before playing in the NBA. So when the opportunity presented itself for Smith to leave his position as an assistant coach at Duke to join new Louisville head coach Kenny Payne, the decision was easy.
All that was left was a conversation with his now former boss: Mike Krzyzewski.
