Fitzgerald Cecilio

Stillwater, OK

Projected high lottery pick guard Marcus Smart will return to Oklahoma State for his sophomore year, postponing his entry to the NBA for at least a season.

The 6-4 Smart, 19, was considered a top-three pick in June's upcoming NBA draft, with the possibility of moving even higher depending on how the lottery played out.

Had things fallen the right way on lottery night—with the Orlando Magic winning—it's possible that Smart could have gone No. 1 overall. Orlando needs a long-term replacement for Jameer Nelson, has a center already in place and could use someone with Smart's toughness and career projection.

It's widely accepted that the 2013 draft is potentially the worst in recent memory while the 2014 class may be the best since 2003.

The high school class of 2013 is one of the most loaded in recent history, adorned with two players, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, who have been called the best prospect since LeBron James. Julius Randle and a bevy of other projected future NBA stars join them.

"I've been bashed and criticized that I probably made a mistake of coming back here, the NBA will be there, I should have took it, and this year's draft class is much weaker than next year's," said Smart.

But Smart felt he needs to accomplish a lot more with the Cowboys before exiting.

"That's just not the way we wanted to go out. It helped me a little bit to get motivated to come back this year," he quipped.

"I'm aware of how much money I am giving up," he added.

Smart led the Cowboys with averages of 15.4 points and 4.2 assists last season when he won Big 12 Player of the Year honors as well as the Wayman Tisdale Award for most outstanding freshman with Oklahoma State.

Teammates Markel Brown and LeBryan Nash will also stay to give Oklahoma State the top three returning scorers in the Big 12 next season, and their return ensures the Cowboys will have their top seven scorers back from a 2012-13 team that went 24-9.

"This is an exciting time for Cowboy Basketball," said head coach Travis Ford said at the news conference. "All three of these guys will have an opportunity to compete at the next level. They realize and understand that the individual awards they received come from great team chemistry, playing well together as a team and winning basketball games. Staying in school also provides them with an opportunity to continue their education, which is very important to them and their families."

However, observers say that Smart has also placed a ton of pressure on his young shoulders. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pointed out that NBA scouts are going to be expecting a lot from Smart upon his return to Oklahoma State:

More specifically, scouts will expect Smart to come back with a vastly improved offensive game. Though he was projected as a top-three lock, there were few who saw Smart as anything resembling an instant contributor on offense. He shot only 40.4 percent from the field, including 29 percent from distance, and averaged about one more assist per game than turnover.

Scouts were enamored, though, with Smart's toughness on defense, his willingness to do anything to win and his potential as an NBA-style point guard.

 

 

 

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Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart Puts NBA on Hold