NBA teams ponder the possibility
Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart (33)beats the Gonzaga defense down the floor for a basket during the first half in a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 21, 2014, in San Diego.
Marcus Smart, coming soon to the home of an NBA lottery team, got off the roller-coaster Friday night in San Diego.
Smart’s up-and-down college career almost certainly ended when Gonzaga defeated Oklahoma State 85-77 in the Cowboys’ opening NCAA Tournament game.
Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart (33)beats the Gonzaga defense down the floor for a basket during the first half in a second-round game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 21, 2014, in San Diego.
If Smart declares for the upcoming NBA Draft, as expected, he waved good-bye to poverty with a flourish.
In February, Smart’s teammates were forced to play three games without him.
After shoving a fan in the final seconds of an Oklahoma State game at Texas Tech, he was suspended by the Big 12.
“I was hurting for him because I know who he is,” said Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford.
He averaged 18 points a game, capped by his magnificent performance against Gonzaga, and Oklahoma State won five its of final seven games to get to the tournament.
Today, Smart appears to be a top-six pick in the draft, partly because of how he played late in the season and reacted to the incident at Texas Tech.