The Pride of Cabarrus County
There aren’t a lot of things that get national headlines or come out of Cabarrus County but when they do we have to talk about them so they don’t get overshadowed by what happens in Charlotte but when someone or something is successful you must acknowledge it and give flowers to people while they’re still here. Ish Smith is starting his 11th season in the NBA and being a product of Central Cabarrus he may not get the shine that he deserves. Coach Scott Brewer has produced some good players from Central but none like Ish. He didn’t have the easy path to the NBA and didn’t even have the easy path to college. When he got to Wake forest in 2006 he was coming in right after Chris Paul had been a top 3 pick in the NBA draft so the expectations on him were through the roof. Not only was he successful at Wake but he exceeded the expectations of him. I’ve known Ish since he was a younger man because I also graduated from Central Cabarrus and went to school with his sister Serlethea Smith-Williams. His entire is family is athletic, Serlethea holds the records for most points scored bya female player in Central Cabarrus history also. From the time he was playing Varsity basketball as a freshman everybody knew there was something there with Ish but the analysts and “experts” questioned his height an ability to play at the next level. At the end of his senior season they had Ish ranked as the 24th overall PG in the country and the 82nd overall player in the country. Of the 2 PGs listed ahead of him only 3 of them are still in the league Patrick Beverly, Mike Conley Jr, and DJ Augustin.
In his four years with the Deacons he had averages of 9.2 points, 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.26 steals in 121 games. He also stands as the only player in school history with 1,000 points (1,114) and 600 assists (612) in his career.
As a senior, Smith averaged 13.2 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.68 steals. He was named Second-Team All-ACC and earned Second-Team All-District honors from the NABC. Smith also received the team’s Murray Greason Award and Team Assists Leader award after finishing third in the ACC and seventh nationally in assists per game in 2009–10.
Even though this is his 11th team in as many seasons he’s finally gaining stability. He signed his first major contract when he was a member of the Detroit Pistons and is in the 2nd of a 2 year free agent deal with the Washington Wizards.
Ish holds camps at his old school and is always doing something to help out in the community especially in Cabarrus county.
(Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
