'I was never gonna leave': Louisville basketball's Nolan Smith on NBA G League interview

Louisville men's basketball assistant coach Nolan Smith on Sunday confirmed a report from August that he interviewed for a head-coaching position in the NBA G League.

But Smith, the first assistant Kenny Payne hired to his U of L staff, said: "I was never gonna leave Louisville."

"I came here to do something special with coach Kenny Payne — 100%," Smith told Jeff Lightsy Jr. of 35KYSports during an interview at Cherry Pickin', a juice bar co-owned by Smith's sister that recently opened in NuLu.

"To run (from) that after one year was never in question," he added. "Never in question."

On Aug. 29, a college basketball insider operating incognito as Trilly Donovan on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, reported Smith and LSU assistant Cody Toppert had interviewed to become the head coach of the Washington Wizards' G League team, the Capital City Go-Go.

Three days later, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sept. 1 the job was going to Toppert, who coached in the G League from 2015-18 before spending a season on the Phoenix Suns' staff. Wojnarowski's report did not mention anyone else who was in contention. Capital City formally announced Toppert as head coach on Sept. 21.

Smith, the 35-year-old son of former Louisville men's basketball star Derek Smith, told Lightsy he interviewed for the position because his dream is to "become a head coach one day in the near future" and he wanted to see what the process was like.

Payne knew what was going on. In fact, he told reporters Monday he gave the Go-Go's general manager his "blessings" when they contacted him asking to speak with Smith about the opening.

"I talked to Nolan first," Payne said. "(I said), 'Nolan, do you want this opportunity?' (He said), 'KP, I think it'd be good for me to interview; I'm not really interested in leaving Louisville.'"

From there, Payne said he removed himself from the proceedings.

"I was done with it," he said. "I trusted Nolan for his word; and I believe Nolan does want to be here. But, some kind of way, when it got out, it created this — whatever it created.

"At the end of the day, our job as head coaches is to promote our guys; and that’s what it is. If he finds an opportunity that he likes, he can take it, but he has to know what he wants to do."

The U of L players weren't told Smith was going through the interview process. So, when his return flight from Washington to Louisville on Aug. 29 landed and he saw the news had been leaked on X, he said his heart was "crushed."

"My first instinct was 'Dang, the players are gonna see this,'" Smith told Lightsy. "My mind was racing, and I texted all of the players. I said, 'Meet me downstairs in (Denny Crum Hall) right now.' They all came down; they all had that look on their face — like, 'Here we go again.'

"They're like, 'You're leaving us, aren't you, coach?' I said, 'No. I'm not going anywhere.'"

Considering Year 1 of Payne's tenure was a disastrous 4-28 season, the worst in modern program history, Lightsy took a moment during the interview to address the elephant in the room.

"You weren't trying to bail on us after one year?" he asked. "You weren't trying to get out of town?"

"Absolutely not," Smith said. "Absolutely not."

Reflecting on the 2022-23 season at the beginning of their conversation, Smith said: "I think it was my best year as a coach. It was my best year as a person. It was my best year as a father, as a husband.

"It was my best year because it was challenging," he said. "My life has been such a blessing; I've always won on and off the court. Everything's been aligned. I've had my ups and downs — my NBA career had ups and downs; I've been through a lot of stuff in life — but last year as a coach and everything that went on, I got better. I had to talk to my players differently; I had to encourage them through everything. That's the beauty of coaching. That's the beauty of being a mentor and leader — no matter what's going on, you got to show up every single day and be at your best."

Payne introduced Smith as the first member of his coaching staff on April 11, 2022. He compared the hire to hitting a "home run" and said it was an emotional moment for him considering his friendship with Smith's father.

"From the day I walked on this campus to the day I left, Derek Smith was a part of everything I've done," Payne told reporters then. "To prepare for the NBA, I trained with Derek with the 76ers, and they ended up drafting me. I can't begin to tell you what that man meant for me. He changed my life. And to be sitting here with his son with me, I can't put it into words where you would understand."

A former All-American who helped Duke win a national championship in 2010, Smith joined the Cardinals after six seasons (2016-22) working in three different roles for Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at his alma mater.

Though he has roots in Durham, North Carolina, and Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Smith considers Louisville home. He was born here; his mom is a native; she and the rest of his direct family members attended U of L; and his father, who died of a heart attack at age 34 in 1996, is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.

Payne, he said, is like an "uncle" to him.

"Good, bad, no matter what's going on, you go in there and you sit with family, you know it's gonna be alright," Smith told Lightsy. "The confidence and trust that we have in each other to get this thing going is high. We know what we came here to do.

"I love watching him work, love watching him be a head coach," he added. "He's really good, and I feel like I'm just taking notes."

Lightsy wrapped up the interview by asking Smith to assess his career trajectory. Smith, a noted recruiter who helped Louisville assemble a 2023 class ranked among the top 10 on 247Sports' national leaderboard, again said he aspires to become a head coach — specifically, in the college ranks.

After testing the G League waters this summer, however, Smith said he's not trying to look too far ahead.

"Before I become a head coach, the main thing is: I want to win in Louisville," he said. "That's it."

U of L's 2023-24 season tips off at 7 p.m. Wednesday with the Red and White intrasquad scrimmage at the KFC Yum! Center.

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Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Nolan Smith on his NBA G League job interview