Russ Smith, a 6-0, 160-pound guard from South Kent (Conn.) School, has signed a national letter-of-intent to continue his basketball playing career at the University of Louisville.
Smith averaged 29.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists for Coach Jack Curran as a senior last season at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, N.Y. as the Stanners posted a 15-9 record. He will spend a year of prep school this season at South Kent.
"Russ reminds our staff of former U of L All-American DeJuan Wheat," said University of Louisville Head Basketball Coach Rick Pitino. "He's exactly what we were looking for from an offensive standpoint. He's obviously a great scorer and will play two positions for us. He's an unguardable one-on-one basketball player who has learned to make others better. He was the MVP of our basketball camp as a rising freshman."
Smith led the New York City Catholic league (CHSAA) in scoring two years, averaging 24.5 points per game as a junior. His top scoring effort in high school was 47 points as a senior against both St. Francis Prep and Christ the King, the latter coming in an 87-85 loss in the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan semifinals.
Smith was named to the 2009 New York State Sportswriters Association all-state team. He also earned first-team all-CHSAA "AA" honors and New York Daily News All-Queens first team status as a senior. He scored 27 points in the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at Madison Square Garden on April 18, helping the City team beat the Suburban team 129-120 to earn co-MVP honors.
The first member of the Cardinals' 2010 recruiting class, Smith also considered Houston, LaSalle, Baylor and Arizona before signing with the Cardinals.
