CONCORD, N.C. – Cabarrus County is headed to Motown.
At least a very important part of Cabarrus County history is headed to Michigan’s largest and most famous city, now that Central Cabarrus graduate Ish Smith has agreed to an NBA free-agent contract with the Detroit Pistons.
On Friday, Smith – the only player from a Cabarrus County public high school to play in the NBA – reportedly reached a deal that will pay him $18 million over three seasons. It has been a circuitous route for Smith, who will be suiting up for his 10th different NBA squad, including the Philadelphia 76ers, for whom he had a career-best year in his second tour with the team this past season.
But when Smith arrives in Detroit later this month, one thing will be made abundantly clear: He is coming from Cabarrus County.
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“When I first got in the league, I used to just tell people, ‘Oh, I’m from Charlotte,’ because everybody knows that city,” Smith said in an interview last week. “But after a while, people started saying, ‘You’re from Charlotte, aren’t you?’ I started saying, ‘Nah, I’m from Harrisburg, North Carolina. I went to Central Cabarrus High School.’ I tell them, and I tell them confidently.
“I want people to know this is where I’m from.”
And what Smith has done on his six-year journey to the big time is one of the most impressive NBA stories in recent years.
He was the undersized kid who played harder and ran faster than everyone else to develop a reputation as a point guard to watch in North Carolina youth basketball circles. He didn’t rest on those laurels, though, because he always felt he had something to prove, so he lived in Cabarrus County gymnasiums, led his neighborhood Vikings to some key victories at the state’s largest classification and went on to set records in the best college conference in the land: the ACC.
The crazy part was, after all that, nobody in the NBA wanted to draft him in 2010, so Smith kept his nose to the grindstone and made himself indispensible during training camps while remaining the consummate teammate. He became a player that teams wanted to keep around, but quite often he was sent away in trades to make the financial ledgers balance out, or he was cut altogether.
So those who really know Smith understand that the deal he will ink with the Pistons is no small feat.
“I’m happy for him, and it makes me proud,” former Central Cabarrus coach Scott Brewer said. “He deserves it, and I know he will be wise with all his dealings. He’ll represent himself well. He always has, and that’s why it’s great that this is happening to him.
“He’s the pride and joy of Cabarrus County.”
All about hoops
Growing up in Harrisburg, Smith’s life mostly revolved around basketball and books. He eschewed video games and the party scene, instead trying to find ways to improve his game.
“He didn’t go to the prom!” Brewer said incredulously. “He said, ‘Coach, I don’t have time for that. Let’s go to the gym.’ I remember I rebounded for him on his junior and senior prom nights. We were in the gym at Central Cabarrus while the prom was going on.
“Friday night after high school football games, he’d go to this 24-hour fitness center in Harrisburg and get on the basketball court until 3 o’clock in the morning. In my 31 years of coaching high school ball, nobody spent more time in the gym than Ishmael Smith.”
He was rewarded by lofty player rankings and playing a huge role for Brewer and the Vikings, who at the time were one of the state’s smallest Class 4A programs but more than holding their own against the big boys.
During Smith’s junior season with the Vikings, he averaged nearly 25 points, eight assists and five steals to lead them to a 20-8 record and the sectional finals. In his final season -- when he posted averages of 24.8 points and 9.8 assists – he was named the MECA 6 Conference Player of the Year while leading Central to league regular-season and tournament titles. That season also included a spectacular 30-point, nine-assist performance against nationally regarded Oak Hill Academy.
“When I was coming out of high school, I wanted people to put a light on Cabarrus County,” Smith said. “The basketball that we had with Dee Bost and Lance (Lewis) at Concord was good, and Northwest Cabarrus had (current Major League Baseball standout Kyle) Seager. We were loaded all over the county. We were going into Charlotte and beating those dudes, and they started respecting us as a county.”
Smith received invitations to join several top college programs. After considering schools such as Clemson, Virginia Tech and Maryland, he ultimately chose Wake Forest and started making an impact.
Before graduating with a degree in religion, he became the only Demon Deacon to record 1,000 points and 600 assists in a career. He is the first Wake Forest player with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds in a career, and is second on the school’s all-time list with 612 assists. For good measure, he was the only player in the nation standing 6 feet or shorter who registered at least 19 blocks during the 2009-10 campaign.
Staying hungry
Going undrafted didn’t dissuade Smith; it seemed to make him more determined. As a 6-0, 175-pounder in the NBA, he used his strengths: speed and athleticism. He, of course, has worn many professional uniforms, but he has called Philadelphia home for most of the past few years.
For a while, it even appeared the 76ers wanted him there for a long time.
Last summer, after becoming a locker-room leader and key player for the team, he entered free agency thinking he would land his first NBA contract that would include some roster and financial stability. He believed the 76ers would re-sign him and he could continue helping one of the league’s youngest franchises make strides.
Then, free agency came and went without a deal with Philadelphia.
“I had some guaranteed contracts on the table (from Phoenix and Sacramento), but I wanted to go back to Philadelphia, so I passed those up,” Smith said. “My agent and I had a promise from Philadelphia, but it didn’t go through. And that’s OK. That’s how free agency goes.”
Just before the 2015-16 season started, the Washington Wizards invited Smith to training camp. He considered bypassing the opportunity and waiting for another team to call him, perhaps during the regular season when a player injury occurred. But sitting and waiting for things to happen wasn’t in Smith’s nature. He went to Washington, which had 15 players with guaranteed contracts in camp and three point guards, including NBA All-Star John Wall.
“My mindset was, ‘I get to play against John Wall, Ramon Sessions and Gary Temple in practice, and that’s going to prepare me for the next opportunity,’” Smith said. “John Wall is easily a top-10 point guard, and I figured I would go against him in practice and get even better instead of just working out with my trainer.”
Because of the Wizards’ loaded roster, Smith wasn’t surprised when he was cut a while later. But just as he had figured, the New Orleans Pelicans suffered an injury, and Smith quickly was headed to the bayou at the start of the season.
“I knew I was ready after practicing against (Wall),” he said.
Smith made the best of his opportunity.
Playing alongside All-NBA-talent Anthony Davis, Smith was a breath of fresh air for the Pelicans. He played so well, he became a hot topic across the league, as players and front-office types sang his praises.
Then, he got an early Christmas present.
On Christmas Eve, Philadelphia traded two second-round picks to bring Smith back to the 76ers. He was getting his chance to be a starter.
“I credit New Orleans because it was so huge,” Smith said. “I got to play with All-Stars, and we were on a national stage, and we got to play so many games on television. People got to see I could play.
What pressure?
Smith admits he felt pressure as he headed back to Philadelphia for the second time.
“It was the first time I had been traded and it wasn’t a throw-in,” he said with a laugh. “Somebody actually wanted me.”
He flourished under the pressure, averaging 14.7 points and seven assists in 50 games as the starting point guard for the 76ers. People discussed him even more.
“I didn’t even realize I was playing so well,” Smith said. “I just knew there was a crazy buzz going around the league. People had picked up on the story because I had been on so many different teams. People thought I was just going to drop off, but I didn’t.
“It’s just a testament to all those teams I had played for and guys I went against in practice. Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson in (Oklahoma City), Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks (in Houston), Mike Conley in Memphis. It can be a confidence-builder or a confidence-killer. Playing against those guys helped me. I was like, ‘When I get my opportunity, I’m running with this bad boy!’”
And many of Smith’s old pals from his previous NBA stops made sure to tell him just how well he was doing.
“We were playing Toronto,” Smith said, “and one of the reporters came up to me and said, ‘Kyle Lowry loves you. He couldn’t stop raving about you. He said when you were in Houston behind (Lowry) and Aaron Brooks, he just knew how special you were going to be.’
“That was a great compliment,” Smith said, “because I always had so much respect for Kyle. He’s a great player.”
Wall went out of his way to exchange jerseys with Smith after one of their meetings. And Westbrook, one of Smith’s longtime friends, couldn’t wait to congratulate him before a game.
“Russ came up to me and was like, ‘Boyyyyy! You ballin’!’” Smith recalled. “I just laughed and said, ‘Nah, man, I’m just trying to catch up with you.’
“But you know Russ is a competitor, and he looked at me and said, ‘Nah, you’re not doing that.’ I said, ‘All right, we’ll see.’”
Smith continued his strong play, but when the season ended and the 76ers still had a dismal record, he knew he wanted more. He again became focused on digging deep to find out how to get to the next level of the NBA.
“I watched every game of the playoffs, and I watched the press conferences,” he said. “I was doing all those things because I know there’s another level of efficiency, another level of playing well. Because once you’ve played against the best and you’ve been No. 1 on everyone’s scouting report, you have to get to that next level.
“Now I know that next year, there will be an expectation. People will see, ‘All right, Ish has some game. Let’s punch him in the mouth. He’s a competitor now. We aren’t just happy for him. When he comes around that corner, we’re going to stop him.”
Free-spirited free agent
When free agency hit this year, Smith was at a different place. Because of the strong season he had, multiple teams would be interested in his services this time around -- and he planned on listening to everyone.
“Maybe I shot myself in the foot last year and gave up some money, but I’m actually a little bit more relaxed this year,” Smith said the week before the free-agency period began. “Last year, I wasn’t nervous, but it was the first time I had put something on the table that teams could truly see. I feel good about things. I’m more focused on what I can control. I want to help my team win.”
The Pistons didn’t waste any time, contacting his agent and wrapping up the deal within a few hours.
One current Piston, Marcus Morris, played with Smith in Phoenix during the 2013-14 season. Morris heaped praise about Smith for the way he carries himself on the floor and in the locker room.
“You could put any (four) guys around Ish and he can make them look good,” Morris said, according to the Detroit News. “He’s a great guy and I don’t see what you can’t love about him; great teammate and he makes guys look good — that’s all you can ask for.
“There are a lot of assets that he brings: He defends very well, he’s very active and only a few guys in the league can push the pace as fast as he does. One of the biggest things is he’s a great teammate … I never had a better teammate. It’s a great fit and I think we got a whole lot better with adding Ish.”
Smith will take his Cabarrus County pride with him to Detroit. He wears it with honor, he said, because it has made him the person he is.
And Brewer said that’s one heck of a person.
“He deserves that contract,” Brewer said, “and I know he’ll be smart. I remember the first time he signed an NBA contract. He told me he bought a car, and I thought he had gone out here and bought something for, like, a 100-grand. “I said, ‘Oh, my goodness, Ish! What did you go and do?’ He said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, Coach, it’s used.’
“He’d just signed a contract for like $700,000, and he goes out and buys a used car. It was an Infiniti, four years old, but not many people with a contract like that go out and do that. But Ish does that.”
Brewer laughed about how much things have changed for the former Viking.
“Now, he’s driving a Porsche, but he’s only got one,” Brewer said. “He doesn’t have two or three, or six or eight, like LeBron (James).”
Even while in faraway NBA cities, Smith said he has always kept his Cabarrus County roots. He definitely keeps an eye on the goings-on here. Before conducting the interview for this story, Smith spent the first few minutes asking a reporter about the current crop of high school talent. He wanted to talk about how good Concord’s Rechon “Leaky” Black, Jay M. Robinson’s Lavar Batts Jr. and Central Cabarrus’ Kyran McClure were this past season. He asked questions about Cox Mill standout Wendell Moore.
“My dad (Larry) sent me one of your newspaper articles, and it sounds like there are a bunch of ballers here!” Smith said proudly.
Things like that, he noted, are why it’s important for people to know he is from Cabarrus County.
“I want people to know this is where I’m from,” he said. “I didn’t go to a prep school or anything – not that there’s anything wrong with anyone doing that. But for me, it’s just embracing where I’m from, the kids I grew up with in middle school and had a great high school career with. I want people to know that.
“When people see me,” he continued, “I want to represent not only my family, not only my spirituality, but the county I come from. So when people see me, I hope they see Cabarrus County.”
