Smith’s debut

Freshman Nick Smith made his college debut against the Trojans wearing a long compression sleeve on his right leg. The anticipation for the debut of the McDonald’s All-American and 5-star prospect had been building for days, since he opened the season rehabbing from a knee issue.

As Smith went to midcourt the buzz in Walton Arena grew and peaked when he was announced as a substitute at the 14:08 mark of the first half.

Smith pulled a six-minute stint and went 0 for 2, including a miss from 3-point range, and grabbed one rebound. The 6-5 guard from Jacksonville did not play in the second half, though Eric Musselman said he thought several times about reinserting him but didn’t think it was fair in a tight game.

“When you’ve coached a long time, I’ve been down this situation a lot,” he said. “Player is on a minutes restriction.

“I think the biggest thing I kept thinking about is he’s going to have four days of practice leading up to the next game. Nick is really anxious to play and we’re really anxious to have him play.”