Tracy Smith recently had a very good workout with the Detroit Pistons. He has dropped over 20 pounds since the end of the season, and that's paying off:
"Not seeing my name on a draft board makes me work harder," Smith told FOX Sports Ohio on a recent drive through Ohio to his home state of Michigan. "It fuels me a lot."
Smith is 6-foot-8 and averaged 14 points this past season. He missed 10 games early in the year with a knee injury, ruining his chance to pad his stats against non-conference opponents.
Scouts liked his talent but not his weight -- as Smith checked in at a little more than 260 pounds. But that was three months ago.
Today, he's down to 238, having eliminated sweets and switching to diet soda. He is also putting in extra time at the gym.
The result was an inspiring workout in Detroit, and now, more opportunities to impress other teams with more workouts to follow.
Because it is a challenge to keep one's weight down when one carries so much kick-ass, Tracy has battled weight problems throughout his basketball career. I'm sure the knee injury that kept him immobilized was a factor. So too, probably, was NC State's strength and conditioning program, such as it was.
Now that it sounds like he's in good shape, it's tough not to lament the setbacks and what was ultimately a missed opportunity in his senior year at NC State. I hope these workouts end up doing enough for Tracy that he gets drafted because I have an opening for favorite NBA team.