Sitting in the locker room after Wednesday night's win over Clemson, Nolan Smith finally showed the emotion he hinted at days before. ("I expect my after-the-game speech to be very short so I can get out of there without anybody seeing me cry," he had said Monday.)
Eyes welling up with tears, he passively answered questions about his play lobbed at him by a large pack of reporters, some eager to pounce on his 7-for-20 shooting performance and his eight turnovers, which could mean the end of his player of the year campaign.
He opened up, though, when the conversation veered from X's and O's to what he felt playing in his last game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. On the arena that he went 65-2 in alongside fellow senior Kyle Singler, Smith had much to say.
"[The emotion] hit me once I came back in the locker room. It’s sad, you know, when you get to play in front of great fans like that in Cameron and under the banners. It hurts.... But I do get to tell my kids one day that my last basket here was a dunk."
The Chronicle asked Smith what memories came back to him when he stepped into the locker room.
"I thought of it being my last time. There’s been so many memories that I can’t process them all, but walking in here, I got emotional. And when there’s times like this, I can’t help but think of my dad. Not being here, and me wanting him to be here."
"I think I got out everything I wanted to say," he said. "But whatever I didn’t get out, I’ll just Tweet it."
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