Going to throw this in a thread of its own; thanks @Easton1134 for bringing it up in "Conor's Corner."
To save anybody else a trip to that thread and to update what I know after driving back from NOLA: It's expected that Nolan Smith is going to join Kenny Payne's staff at Louisville.
I've heard he's going to have an "associate head coach" title and make $1 million/year, which is quite the bump for someone who's been an assistant for only one year.
I understand the shock in seeing a former Duke player leave to be an assistant elsewhere -- I estimated it's probably been 20 years since a Duke assistant left for another job that wasn't an upgrade? -- but I'm told Kenny Payne is really close to Nolan and his family. I think most of yall know Nolan was born in Louisville and his dad played there.
Not to speak for him ... but I'm guessing this was a tough decision for him to make.
Also, to tie in another area of interest: Nolan is G.G. Jackson's recruiter.
Now, all of this comes with the caveat that I've not confirmed with Nolan or anybody on Duke's staff. So I'd hold off on
To save anybody else a trip to that thread and to update what I know after driving back from NOLA: It's expected that Nolan Smith is going to join Kenny Payne's staff at Louisville.
I've heard he's going to have an "associate head coach" title and make $1 million/year, which is quite the bump for someone who's been an assistant for only one year.
I understand the shock in seeing a former Duke player leave to be an assistant elsewhere -- I estimated it's probably been 20 years since a Duke assistant left for another job that wasn't an upgrade? -- but I'm told Kenny Payne is really close to Nolan and his family. I think most of yall know Nolan was born in Louisville and his dad played there.
Not to speak for him ... but I'm guessing this was a tough decision for him to make.
Also, to tie in another area of interest: Nolan is G.G. Jackson's recruiter.
Now, all of this comes with the caveat that I've not confirmed with Nolan or anybody on Duke's staff. So I'd hold off on
