Louisville Basketball: Top 15 Players of the 2000’s: 3-1

#1 – Russ Smith (2011-2014)

Career Stats: 14.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.9 spg 

Russ, Russdiculous, Every Day I’m Russlein’, Ridic-u-Russ Smith. One of the most fascinating players and human beings to ever play college basketball, and one of the all-time greats in Louisville history.

There’s not much to say about this man that hasn’t already been said. It’s difficult to put into words the appreciation I have for Russ Smith, because of what he had to overcome in his career, and just how incredible of a player he truly was.

Smith was basically an unknown recruit coming out of high school. As the story goes, he was literally a game away from just packing up and leaving Louisville forever because of his lack of playing time during his freshman year. He was wearing boxer shorts sitting on the bench when Rick Pitino finally called his number in a game, and the rest is history.

Russ famously lightened the mood around the program after Rick Pitino realized that the less he tried to reign in Russ, the more Russdiculousness would happen. Things like four on one fast breaks (advantage Russ), no look contested lay-ups (that often went in), and a number of just insane plays throughout his career made his so special.

As much as people love to follow Smith and his crazy antics (like his love for all things Waffle House, or that time he literally sat out a game because he slept wrong on a couch), Smith was an absolute baller. Without a doubt in our minds, Smith was the best player to put on a Louisville uniform since 2000, and the stats back it up.

Smith recorded the second highest Single Season Scoring Record all time UofL History with 748 points (2nd behind behind Darrell Griffith). He is 5th all-time at UofL with 1,908 points for his career. He scored 134 points in a single post season, and 248 over his four NCAA tournaments, both of which are first all-time at Louisville. He is second in career free throws made with 488.

And, if you remember Russ Smith as being one-dementional, he is 6th all-time at Louisville in assists (172). Additionally, he finished his career with 257 steals. Smith was a flat out monster in every facet of the game, and was the ultimate competitor.

At 6′ 0,” 165 pounds at his largest, Smith was one of the most unconventional players in college basketball. He was mere hours away from calling it quits, and somehow worked his way to the very top.

In his senior season, he was a first team All-American. He ended his career having lead teams to the final four in 2012, a National Championship in 2013, and an Elite Eight in 2014. He had too many incredible clutch plays and memories to recall, and he did it all with a chip on his shoulder.

I could wax poetically about Russ Smith for days, but what you really want to do is watch an awesome highlight video of Russdiculous.

Russ Smith: Number 1 in our hearts, but more importantly, number 1 on the court in the last 18 years.