Smith frustrated by NBA draft

The 20 minutes he spent with reporters late Thursday night, just moments after he’d been selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 47th pick in the NBA draft and then traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, revolved around his searing frustration.

He was frustrated that several unnamed big-time NBA draft prospects avoided workouts with him in the two-month build-up to the draft.

U of L’s Peyton Siva, #3, center, and Russ Smith, #2, hoist the regional trophy as they gain a trip to the Final Four with their win over Florida during their NCAA tournament game in Phoenix, Az.

It was a familiar refrain for those who know Smith, a player whose game is built on guile and craft, an ability to climb into crevices and find a way to a layup through the big men surrounding him.

Center, a day after a Sports Illustrated article quoted an anonymous NBA front-office source who said Smith was too selfish to make it as an NBA point guard, Smith doled out a career-high 13 assists.

In January, Smith abruptly left an interview with me after 10 minutes because he had practice, and players would never risk running late to a Pitino practice.

We spoke for another 45 minutes about everything that meant something to him fashion, video games, the NBA, basketball sneakers, basketball itself, Pitino, his family, his high school friends.

He’d improved in every statistical category, and he cited those numbers on Thursday night, at one point saying he averaged the most assists per minute of any player in the American Athletic Conference last season.

Smith struggled mightily watching the draft, leaving his mom and girlfriend and friends who’d gathered so that he could watch YouTube and clear his head.

Moments after that, he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, home of former Kentucky star Anthony Davis, a close friend of Smith’s U of L teammate Wayne Blackshear.