EVERYTHING is starting to happen for Port Macquarie Dolphins guard Josh Smith.
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Just five months after moving to the Hastings from Bundaberg in Queensland, Smith is preparing to jet off again.
The 17-year-old has been accepted into college in North Dakota after receiving the news they believe he is good enough to head over there.
When he was told he needed to pack his bags and head to America in August, he said he lost his mind.
“Being an under six-foot guard from Australia you always have a hoop dream to play College basketball and you don’t know if it’s going to happen,” Smith said.
“But when I got the email I lost it, I was running around the house like a mad man yelling and screaming. It was awesome.”
While there are still many boxes that need to be ticked, Smith is hopeful his time in North Dakota will be the first step on the way to a career in the NBA.
“It could happen,” he said.
Smith will be abroad for two years and after that he will transfer to a bigger university.
Whatever happens after that could take him anywhere. It could be in Australia, Europe, China or the NBA.
He has a soft spot for the Los Angeles Lakers and while they are currently struggling for form he still harbours ambitions to one day run out onto the Staples Centre.
“When I got the email I lost it, I was running around the house like a mad man yelling and screaming. It was awesome.”
- Josh Smith
Every basketballers dream is to play in the NBA.
“The first game I ever watched was the Lakers and Kobe Bryant and I’ve always been a fan of theirs even though they aren’t going to well at the moment.
“To pull on the purple and gold would be amazing.”
He knows to get to where he wants will require a lot of hard work, but he doesn’t shy away from it.
“You put in all this hard work to get this far, but then you realise all the hard work has only just started,” he said.
“I don’t think I know what’s going to hit me yet, but I love the process. I love working hard; I take pride in trying to be the hardest worker on the team.”
He wants to return to Port Macquarie and be part of the rebuilding at the Dolphins because he knows the ingredients are there for a strong team in coming years.
“It’s lucky I’ll be back for most of next season because I really want to work with these young guys,” he said.
“I really want to stick with this team because hopefully some of the more experienced guys this year will stick around because we’ve got something special coming through.”
