Nolan Smith: Lots of People Will Miss Watching Us But Tournament Goes On
Duke director of operations Nolan Smith spoke to Sports Illustrated about his memories of March Madness as well as the Blue Devils missing this year’s tournament.
“It definitely sting,” he said of not getting selected this year. “I think for us, it stings. We know we had a lot of games, a lot of opportunities that slipped away from us in order to be a tournament team. We were right there, especially coming off last season ending due to COVID. We were prepared this year. Our guys battled through COVID protocols, battled this whole year, battled through not having fans to put ourselves in position to become an NCAA team. Was it enough? Absolutely not. We talked to the guys about how we had opportunities to have our names called, and we didn’t do exactly enough to do that. We didn’t get to end the year with a loss or a win—it didn’t end the way we wanted it to end. That also stings.”
Instead, the Blue Devils are looking ahead.
“We’re going to use this as motivation heading to next year. We’re already thinking about that. That’s what happens when your season ends. You start preparing, start getting mad, use the tournament to watch it and get motivated for next season. We know next season, we’ll be there, be ready.”
Former Blue Devil Zion Williamson said he wouldn’t be watching the tournament because, “If Duke isn’t in it, I’m not interested.”
Smith said, “The NCAA Tournament is the NCAA Tournament. I love March Madness, and it’s still going to be a very exciting tournament. There are big time teams and big time players I’m excitedto watch. But from the business side of things, Duke—it’s the brand people want to watch. They love picking us to get upset. They love picking us to get wins. From that standpoint, I see what Zion is saying. A lot of people are going to miss watching us, but the tournament is still going to go on.”
