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It may not have gotten the d result he desired, but Terquavion Smith made a statement in his NCAA Tournament debut. N.C. State suffered a 72-63 loss at the hands of 6th-seeded Creighton, but it was not without an impressive outing from Smith.
The 6-foot-4 guard scored a game-high 32 points on 12-for 27 shooting. Smith had his fingerprints all over the performance for N.C. State, doing his best to will the team to victory. He competed on the defense, did an impressive job getting to the basket and showed no hesitation to dunk it on his opponents.
Who is Terquavion Smith?
Smith was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school and was considered the No. 77 overall prospect by 247Sports. He led Farmville Central to three straight North Carolina Class 2A state championships and averaged an impressive 25.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.2 steals as a senior.
His strong play opened the door for Smith at the collegiate level. Smith committed to N.C. State and made his presence felt right away. As a freshman, he started 25 of 32 games, averaging 16.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 2.5 apg.
The ACC All-Freshman team member elected to test the NBA waters following his freshman year. He entered the combine without an agent, but without being a guaranteed first-round pick, he decided to return to school.
This season, he has put forth some more complete games and averaged 17.5 ppg, 4.2 apg and 3.6 rpg. His 3-point percentage took a step back, slipping from 36.9% last year to 33.8% this season, but he formed an elite backcourt alongside Jarkel Joiner.
Smith also suffered a scary-looking injury against rival North Carolina, having to be stretchered off the court after a harsh fall.
His NCAA Tournament experience was short-lived as the Wolfpack were eliminated in Smith's debut game. This was not due to a lack of effort on his part, but giving up 44 second-half points ultimately sunk N.C. State.
He will now have to make a decision about his future with a potential NBA leap surely coming to the forefront of his mind. Smith may not have changed his stock in the way that was exactly desired for his return to school, but there is still plenty to like about him as a player.
For now, he will be focused on getting over the heartbreaking NCAA Tournament loss, but Terquavion Smith will be a name to watch.
