The Nevada Wolf Pack and Eric Musselman have added another recruit to the basketball program.
Shawn Smith, a Marshall transfer, announced on Tuesday that he has committed to the Wolf Pack turning down offers from Alabama, Saint Mary's and Southern California. Smith, who is eligible to play this season, is a 6-foot 6-inch wing player who is expected to add a scoring punch to a Wolf Pack team that struggled to score last season.
Smith said that he chose Nevada because he "liked the staff and my mom really wants to see me play college basketball." Smith also like the system Musselman will run at Nevada and believes that his system will fit him best.
Smith was initially contacted by Nevada when David Carter was the head coach and was interested but when Carter was fired, he "took them off my list". Smith's former high school coach at Sacramento's McClatchy High contacted him and told them to consider the Wolf Pack again.
"My high school coach liked Nevada and told me about the new coach," Smith said. "I wasn't even considering Nevada at first, but he told me about Coach Muss and said he was a great coach".
Smith, who is originally from Sacramento, spent two years at the College of San Francisco before transferring to Marshall where he averaged 7.8 points per game as a junior and 12 points per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three as a senior before suffering a season ending shoulder injury five games into the season. Smith took a redshirt last year and graduated last Saturday making him eligible to play this upcoming season.
When Nevada played Marshall last year, Smith was out with the injury but he did get to see the Wolf Pack team up close. "We played them last year and they didn't have leadership", Smith said of last year's Wolf Pack team. Smith also mentioned that "I want to bring leadership and bring the scoring aspect. I'm a wing who can shoot the ball. I'm great around the rim. Looking at the team, they have Eric Cooper, Lindsey Drew, AJ West, a double-double guy. I think it will be a great fit."
Smith is the fourth scholarship addition the Wolf Pack has added under Musselman. Musselman has already added guard Lindsey Drew and two other transfers, Jordan Caroline and Marcus Marshall, who have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. With Smith's addition, it puts Nevada one over the maximum scholarship limit of 13 which means at least one returning player will likely transfer.
Smith will compete for minutes at the wing spots along with Tyron Criswell and DJ Fenner and despite Smith only having one year of eligibility left, he does give the Wolf Pack back court more depth, length and most importantly, proven scoring ability.