Dennis Smith Jr. said he never lost faith in himself or his abilities as he faced probably the two most difficult seasons of his young basketball career.
Smith had built himself up as one of the top prospects in the country heading into college, rising to No. 7 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings at the end of his senior year.
Or, rather, maybe that was falling to seventh. Smith did not play his senior year at Greenville (N.C.) Trinity Christian School in 2016. He tore his ACL his junior year and sat out watching his final high school days go by, enrolling early at NC State to get a jump start on his rehab and his college career.