Within minutes of his son’s national championship win, Russ Smith, Sr. told SI.com that his son would be going pro. He informed his namesake, the star Louisville guard, that “this is how you go out.”
Russ Smith, Jr. has now won back-to-back Big East titles, made two straight Final Fours, and has now won a national title. He averaged 23.3 points in six tournament games and 18.9 points per game through the season.
Smith is a small guard at 6’1″, 165 pounds, but he has been very effective over the course of his career, and coach Rick Pitino said he would be “hell to guard” in the NBA. Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Kansas’ Ben McLemore were also declared for the draft Tuesday.