This Saturday the Louisville Cardinals will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a home game that will feature the jersey retirement of Louisville basketball fan favorite Russ Smith. Smith’s #2 jersey will be lifted into the rafters of the KFC Yum Center to be celebrated for years to come!
Russ Smith played for the Cards from 2010-2014 and was a member of the 2013 National Championship team that beat Michigan. Unfortunately they were forced to vacate the honor, including all of their wins from that particular season. Still, Louisville basketball and Cardinal fans everywhere remember the joy that Russ Smith’s run and gun style of play brought to the Yum Center. He would often give Cards fans heart attack by some of his wild antics with the basketball in his hands, but when he did succeed, he was an absolute boss with the sauce!
Smith scored 1,908 points during his career playing for the Cards. He was never the fastest or tallest player on the court, but his heart was second to none. Russ would drive into the lane and find a way to conquer the giants for a timely bucket with an “and 1” coming. This resonated with many fans because he always left it all on the floor. If there was a shot to be made down the stretch, you could bet that Russ was jacking from deep like he had “NBA Jam!” flames tailing the basketball on the way to what he thought was a for sure “splasher”.
Louisville basketball will always appreciate the contributions and excitement that Russ Smith brought to the school and this city. The game against Notre Dame will take place at 4:00pm EST on Saturday, and hopefully there will be a full house to chant Russ Smith’s name one more time. Congrats to you Russ!