Upper Marlboro Star Prepares for NBA Draft

There's a party happening in town next week, and you're probably not invited. Sorry.

Nolan Smith, who grew up in Upper Marlboro, said he will gather with family and friends to watch the NBA Draft beginning at 7 p.m., June 23.

The ACC Player of the Year this past season at Duke, Smith hopes to become the latest Prince George's County product to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft.

"Basketball in this area is on the national radar because of the competion," Smith told Patch in an exclusive interview on Friday. "We have all gotten better" through playing against top-notch competition.

Among players with ties to Prince George's who are now in the NBA includes Jeff Green (Northwestern High, Boston Celtics), Delonte West (Eleanor Roosevelt, Boston), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), Michael Beasley (Minnesota), Sam Young (Memphis) and Ty Lawson (Denver), all of whom spent part of their youth in the county. Young was drafted by Memphis in the second round in 2009.

One mock draft, www.nbadraft.net, has Smith going in the first round as the 26th overall pick to Dallas, which won the NBA title on Sunday over Miami.

"My goal is the first round, of course," he said. "The first round is looking very good."

Smith is projected to land with the Wizards as the fourth pick of the second round, according to www.draftexpress.com. That scenario may be just fine with Smith, a guard who averaged 20.1 points and 5.1 assists per game as a senior for Duke.

"Being home would be great. I grew up following the Bullets," Smith said.

He was among a group of possible draft picks who worked out for the Wizards on Friday at the Verizon Center in downtown Washington.

"It would be great. I have so much family here," Smith said of the chance to play for the Wizards. "It would be a great feeling."

"Today went very well. I went out and competed," he said in a telephone interview after Friday's workout. "I plan to work hard every day."

Smith said that Friday's workout was his seventh with an NBA team and he is slated to attend four more, beginning with the Lakers this Thursday.

While in Upper Marlboro, he has been working out at the Lake Arbor Recreation Center.

Smith played middle school basketball at The Key School in Annapolis. He played one year of high school ball at Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro before ending his prep career at powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

He is the son of Monica and the late Derek Smith, who was a member of the 1980 Louisville team that won the NCAA title. Nolan Smith was born in Louisville in 1988. His stepfather is Curtis Malone.

Smith grew up with Beasley, who was drafted out of Kansas State by the Miami Heat. Smith was part of the DC Assault AAU team that won the U-16 national title.