Still the Wolfpack star will be on an NBA roster, as he was signed shortly after the draft by the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-way deal that allows him to play for the 76ers and its G League affiliate.
Some of his Wolfpack teammates showed up at Sports and Social for the draft party Thursday night.
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"This is everything, everything I've been dreaming for since I was little," said Smith. "Just getting the opportunity means everything."
Smith grew up in Farmville in Pitt County outside of Greenville.
"Believe in God, put the work in; you can never work too hard," Smith said.
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His mom, Shannon Williams, said he had a goal on his grandparents' kitchen door about his goals, and he achieved them.
"Every day, Baby T, was in the gym," she said. "I'm just proud of him because he's living his dream. We're from Greenville and most kids don't make it. The streets take him, the jail take them, hell and heaven. I'm just proud of my son for living his dream out."
His dad is Terrance Smith and credited his son for doing the work.
"So this all him, nothing to do with us, we just kept him going on the right path," Terrance Smith said. "A lot of kids east of Raleigh don't get the notoriety they should've gotten. He worked hard and saw the work could be done and worked hard to get it."
Smith returned to Raleigh for another season after some pundits thought he would declare for the draft a year earlier.
The 6-4, 165-pounder was a prolific scorer and shot creator in college. Questions about his slight frame and decision-making had most observers thinking Smith would be taken late in the first round at best and more likely the second round.
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Smith wasn't selected in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, ending the watch party on a disappointing note. It's a certainty, however, that Smith will continue to do the work necessary to achieve his goals and dreams and prove all the teams that snubbed him wrong.
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