The text message delivered to Nolan Smith's cell phone two weeks ago didn't say much, but it was exactly what the Blue Devils' junior guard needed to hear after Duke's win at North Carolina.
"Get in the gym," the late-night text read.
It came from Michael Beasley, Smith's childhood friend and Miami Heat forward who was the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Short, direct messages such as Beasley's have helped spur Smith to overcome the struggles of his sophomore season to become the ACC's fourth-leading scorer at 17.9 points a game.
Quick-witted with an eager smile, Smith remains close with his childhood teammates from Upper Marlboro, Md., and from his high school days at Oak Hill Academy.
Duke guard Jon Scheyer is constantly amazed by the number of friends Smith has. When Duke was at Miami last week, former Hurricanes guard Jack McClinton was there to have his jersey retired.
Just before the start of the second half, McClinton yelled at Smith, telling him to look for his shot. After the game, McClinton texted Smith to say he has a sweet shot and needs to be confident with it.
"He'll know somebody on the other team, no matter what team we're playing," Scheyer said. "He really knows everybody, either from playing AAU or, 'Yeah, at this camp I met him.' We always joke about it."
Beasley and Smith have been close friends since childhood and were teammates on the D.C. Assault club team. Smith also corresponds with former Oak Hill teammates Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"They really help me because they give me the confidence that I need," Smith said. "They let me know to keep working, keep staying in the gym."
Smith usually heeds their advice.
Duke didn't leave the Smith Center until close to midnight after the game with North Carolina, a game in which Smith shot 0-for-7 from the field in the first half.
As soon as the Blue Devils returned to Duke's campus, though, Smith grabbed freshman teammate Andre Dawkins and headed to the practice gym. Even though he'd played 39 minutes in the game, Smith shot about 500 jumpers, staying in the gym until after 1 a.m., before calling it a night.
Sophomore struggles
Smith struggled with his confidence early in his college career, however.
He began his sophomore season as the starting point guard but hit a rough patch last February. Smith admitted that the competition he faced on the team added to his uncertainty.
Greg Paulus, a senior who had been the starting point guard, still was on the team. So was a talented freshman, Elliot Williams.
"Elliot was right there working hard," Smith said. "And he very easily could have stepped in and been doing what I was doing. And he did. He was working hard, and eventually his name was called."
Williams entered the starting lineup on Feb. 19 of last season and stayed there. Smith's minutes were reduced, and he missed three games recuperating from a concussion he suffered on Feb. 25 after getting crushed on a devastating screen by Maryland's Dave Neal.
Smith came back strong from the injury, though, and returned to a productive role in the ACC and NCAA tournaments to set himself up for a big junior season.
The transfer of Williams to Memphis made Smith's progress this season even more important for Duke. The Blue Devils entered the season with just three scholarship guards in Smith, Scheyer and Dawkins, and Smith averaged only 8.4 points a game last season.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has said his top three scorers - Scheyer, Smith and Kyle Singler - are going to stay in the game no matter what. And if they miss a bunch of shots early, he wants them to keep shooting.
Some fans worry that the large amount of minutes Scheyer (36.6 mpg), Singler (35.8 mpg) and Smith (35.5 mpg) are playing will cause them to tire in games and at the end of the season. But the No. 5-ranked Blue Devils (23-4, 11-2 ACC) lead the ACC, and Smith has found comfort in the idea that he no longer has to look over his shoulder or worry about making mistakes.
On Feb. 13, for example, Duke assistant coaches Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski buried their heads in their hands when Smith grabbed Greivis Vasquez's jersey for an intentional foul with the Blue Devils leading Maryland by 19 points. Smith came out of the game briefly because he had four personal fouls, but he came back in the game less than three minutes later.
"He just puts the ball in my hands, Jon's hands, Kyle's hands, to do what we have to do to win these games," Smith said of Krzyzewski. "It gives me tons of confidence to just lay it on the line."
Positive input
Krzyzewski's faith in Smith has paid off in some big second-half performances.
After being held scoreless in the first half at North Carolina, he finished with 10 points. At Miami, Smith was 1-for-7 from the field in the first half but was 5-for-7 after halftime, when he scored 18 of his 21 points.
Part of Smith's improvement this season is simply the result of maturity, Krzyzewski said. Krzyzewski also welcomes the positive input Smith gets from his friends in the NBA.
"Like in school, you have a number of different teachers," Krzyzewski said. "You may have one that gives you more because that's your major, but if people have a positive influence on you, that's good. I would think that Nolan listens to me very well, but the fact that someone else has an influence, then that's good, too."
Of course, when Duke plays North Carolina, former Tar Heels guard Lawson tries to exert a different kind of influence.
Lawson - who also was a soccer teammate of Smith's at Oak Hill - texted Smith before the Feb. 10 game in Chapel Hill to say the Tar Heels were going to beat Duke.
Smith didn't return the message until he was on the bus back to Duke after the Blue Devils' 64-54 win. All he texted to Lawson was a smiley face.
Shortly afterward, Smith was in the gym, following the advice Beasley had given him.
