Duke’s Nolan Smith talking to Louisville about joining basketball staff, sources say
Family ties could draw Nolan Smith away from his long-time home at Duke.
Smith, now an assistant men’s basketball coach at the school following a playing career that included winning a national championship with the Blue Devils, Smith is having discussions with Louisville about joining the Cardinals’ coaching staff, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
The Cardinals hired Kenny Payne, who played on the school’s 1986 NCAA championship team, as their head coach on March 17. Smith’s father, Derek, played for Louisville’s 1980 NCAA championship team.
Smith was born in Louisville in 1988 and his father, who died at age 34 of a massive heart attack on Aug. 9, 1996, is buried in the city’s Cave Hill Cemetery.
The chance to coach at Louisville could prove stronger than when Smith interviewed to join Memphis’ staff in 2020, before staying at Duke.
Smith played at Duke from 2007-11, helping the Blue Devils win the 2010 NCAA championship. In 2011, he was named ACC player of the year while averaging 20.6 points per game. Portland selected him in the first round of that summer’s NBA Draft.
Following a pro basketball career, he returned to Duke in 2016 to join Mike Krzyzewski’s staff in various non-coaching roles, as director of basketball operations and director of player development.
Last April, after assistant Nate James left Duke to become Austin Peay’s head coach, Smith was promoted to a assistant coach. He helped with recruiting over the past 10 months as the Blue Devils secured 2022’s No. 1 class. He also handled scouting reports for Duke’s game prep along with fellow assistants Chris Carrawell and Jon Scheyer.
Smith did not respond to a text message from the News and Observer on Sunday night.
Louisville’s interest in Smith comes as Duke faces its biggest transition in more than 40 years. Krzyzewski announced last June he would retire following this season. Duke selected Scheyer, Smith’s teammate on the 2010 NCAA championship team, as Krzyzewski’s replacement.
After Duke lost 81-77 to North Carolina late Saturday night in the Final Four, one game short of the NCAA championship game, Krzyzewski’s retirement took effect, and Scheyer moved into the head coaching role.
Having moved into the head coaching job, Scheyer already has to hire one assistant coach to join Smith and Carrawell on the staff. Now, he faces the possibility of needing to make two hires if Smith leaves for Louisville.
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 11:07 PM.