It’s the final stretch for senior Nolan Smith, and he knows it. He only has six games remaining at Cameron Indoor Stadium. That means he only has six more chances to hear Trip Durham announce his name in the starting line-up, and only six more chances to continue solidifying his name in Duke basketball history.
But, and perhaps most importantly to him, he only has six more attempts to lead his team to victory.
“Each game is coming close to becoming my last game here,” Smith said. “Every game is going to be very important to my team and me. I want to go out as strong as possible in Cameron.”
As one of the teams only two seniors, his responsibilities only become heavier when he’s forced to defend one of the best guards in the ACC tonight at 9 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium—the Eagles’ very own Reggie Jackson.
“They have a very good guard in Jackson, who will be my assignment,” Smith said. “Stopping [him] is going to be our key to the game.”
And it’ll be a challenging. At 6-foot-3 and 205 lbs, Jackson will tower over Smith with an inch of height and over thirty pounds of mass.
To make matters worse, Jackson’s impressive statistics complement his intimidating stature. As a junior, he leads the entire team in almost every significant statistical category: points (19.1), assists (4.9), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.7) per game. But the accolades don’t stop there. He’s been named ACC player of the Week twice this season, and ranks among the ACC leaders in seven different categories. Consequently, he’s been instrumental in Boston College’s resurgence as an ACC title contender this season.
Stopping him will be essential to a Duke (18-1, 5-1 in the ACC) victory tonight. Fortunately, Smith is one of Duke’s best defenders, leading the team with 1.5 steals per game. But, whether or not he can handle Jackson’s significant size advantage will be a question that can only be answered on the court.
But to spend too much time worrying about Jackson wouldn’t be doing the Eagles (14-6, 4-2) justice. After all, he is only half of the duo that compromises Boston College’s major offensive attack. The other, senior forward Joe Tapani, will also be looking to leave his mark in Cameron. One of Boston College’s most consistent scorers, Trapani is as versatile a forward as they come. Although he plays inside the key, and leads the team in rebounding, he’s well known for his long-range shooting abilities, hitting 32 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Luckily, Duke may have found itself an answer to Trapani in sophomore forward Ryan Kelly, another big man well known for his shooting abilities.
“Certainly, Trapani’s been a guy whose had a great career so far. The numbers he puts up are very good, and I want to be able to put up those numbers in the future,” Kelly said. “He’s a skilled player who can shoot the basketball and also put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. I guess you can see a similarity [between us] there.”
Kelly will be returning to the court after undoubtedly the finest performance of his career last Saturday against Wake Forest, in which he led the team in scoring with 20 points, in a statistically perfect performance. He hit all of his field goals, 3-pointer, and free throw attempts to complement his six rebounds and two steals. The Blue Devils can only hope that the game instilled in him a sense of confidence that will carry over toward the remaining schedule, starting with Boston College tonight.
After all, Smith will need a little help to make his last stretch of games in Cameron special.
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