Smith played his high school ball at Oldham County High School (Buckner, KY), where he was a standout forward on the high school team and record-setting wide receiver on the football team. He also played on the Kentucky (high school) All-Stars in their annual two-game series against the Indiana All-Stars. After two years of junior college basketball at Southeastern Illinois College, Smith was rated as one of the top JUCO prospects and committed to play ball for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville. But _he_backed out of the commitment and entered the 2004 NBA draft instead. <sep>, Pronoun: he