WATCH: Nolan Smith struggles with first pitch at Louisville Bats game
Louisville basketball’s new assistant coach Nolan Smith has never played baseball and it showed on Thursday night. Even though he never played baseball, he still practiced before throwing out the first pitch before a Louisville Bats game.
Watch as the former Duke basketball star sends it in the dirt well before it reaches home plate.
Louisville is facing off against the Iowa Cubs tonight in Louisville, Kentucky. They are the AAA affiliates of their respective Major League Baseball teams.
Nolan Smith was one of the most complete players in America when he played for the Duke Blue Devils from 2007-2011
As for Smith, he just joined the Louisville basketball program on April 11. He had a very decorated career when he suited up with the Duke Blue Devils. Before he signed with Duke, he played his high school basketball at the prestigious Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia).
While at Duke, Smith was named a consensus first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year in 2011. He also helped guide the Blue Devils to three consecutive ACC crowns (2009-2011) and a national title in 2010 during his time in Durham (2007-2011). When he led the Blue Devils to the national title in 2010, Smith was named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA South Regional in Houston. His senior season stats proved that he’d become one of the most complete and well-rounded players in the country. Smith stuffed the stat sheet with 20.6 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game, 5.1 assists per game, and 1.2 steals per game.
In averaging just over 20 points per game, he became just the ninth player under Mike Krzyzewski to accomplish such a feat. The Louisville area is very familiar to Nolan Smith, as his father, Derek Smith, played for the Cardinals and was a member of their 1980 national championship roster.
It will be exciting to see what kind of impact Nolan Smith makes on the Louisville basketball program.