*TC COLLEGE PARK Enjoy it now, because he's not coming back. Joe Smith is going to the NBA, but only after he wins the national college Player of the Year award, leads Maryland to the ACC title and is named Final Four MVP.
Ridiculous?
Not the part about Player of the Year.
Not any of it.
Not after last night.
All Smith did in No. 5 Maryland's 71-62 victory over No. 15 Virginia was play the most spectacular game of his spectacular career against one of the best defensive teams in the country, following one of his worst performances.
Every basket must be treasured now, every game savored, every performance relished. The ACC is the best league in the country, but Smith is playing in the JSC, the Joe Smith Conference, a league where he keeps improving and everyone else is standing still.
Let's get right to it -- 29 points, 21 rebounds, seven blocked shots, three steals, one assist. Even Humble Joe admitted it was his most complete game at Maryland. Heck, you rarely see a more complete game from any player, at any level, anywhere.
This was a two-point game with five minutes left, but Smith had three blocks down the stretch, and when Virginia did get off a shot, he grabbed the rebound. "Sometimes, it felt like they were just coming right to me," Humble Joe said.
Right to him.
ESP in the JSC. Of course.
"Unfortunately, it was on national television," Maryland coach Gary Williams joked. "He picks his spots."
You know, like in the Clemson game, when Smith blocked a potential game-tying shot in the final seconds. Or the Duke game, when he scored a career-low six points, but blocked two shots in the final 26 seconds in a two-point victory.
"No," Williams continued, smiling, "down the stretch, every once in a while, he gets in a zone where it looks like he makes up his mind that no one else is going to get a rebound.
"He can't do that the entire game. No one can. But for that one period, he looks like he makes up his mind no one else is going to get a rebound."
And that's how it was last night. Smith had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the second half alone. His career-high rebound total included eight on the offensive end. And he shot 9-for-13 against a team that was holding its opponents to 38.6 percent shooting.
"It was a very level game, a pretty good game," Humble Joe said. "There were some things I could have corrected, but I played a tough game on the boards, inside scoring, blocked shots; a fair all-around game."
If this was fair, what's good? Check back next week, when Maryland hosts North Carolina in the first meeting of Top Five teams at Cole since, well, they're looking it up. Don't worry about Saturday's game at Georgia Tech. Maryland won by 13 when Tech had James Forrest.
Smith vs. Rasheed Wallace, that will be something. Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the first game against Carolina despite foul trouble. Those are his current averages. The last ACC player to do that for a full season? Mike Gminski 15 years ago.
The crazy part is, Smith is still only 19, getting older, getting better. Last night, he unveiled a 10-foot jump hook. "His arms are so long, he's like 12 feet high when he shoots the thing," Williams said. "It's got to be goaltending if you block it coming down."
Then there are the blocked shots. Smith had 93 last season, the fifth-highest total in Maryland history. This season he already has 60, the seventh-highest total. Last night's total matched his career-high.
The thing Williams likes best is that Smith doesn't just swat the ball into the stands. He keeps the ball in play, and more often than not, the result is a fast break. Smith said he got the idea from Bill Walton, who talked about it on television.
In any case, the thing that still distinguishes Smith most is his unflappable demeanor. He has a bulldog tattooed over his heart, but that's the only visible sign of his inner fire. Smith said his 2-for-10 shooting performance against Duke "affected me a lot." Who noticed?
"He's a calm player," Virginia senior Junior Burrough said. "Sometimes with sophomores, you can do little things to rattle them, but he comes to play like he's playing to get better. It's hard to rattle a player with that kind of mentality."
"He keeps a much more level perspective than a lot of people -- for instance, his coach," Williams said, smiling. "You're like, 'Joe, for once, get mad.' But I have not seen him even complain to an official since he's been playing here."
He's too good to be true, and that's why this can't last. Smith surely could benefit from an extra year at Maryland if he plans on becoming an NBA power forward, but the way he's playing this season, could his stock possibly get any higher?
"I don't think anyone on the team is thinking that way," Johnny Rhodes said. "Everyone is hoping he stays around. He hasn't been talking about that. Sometimes, the [NBA] hype messes with him a little bit. Right now, he's focusing on his schoolwork and basketball. Those are his No. 1 priorities."
Rhodes was asked if he thought Smith would stay, and he nodded and smiled. Maybe Rhodes knows something. Maybe Smith wants to keep adding to his legend, one chapter after another, until there's no difference between the Joe Smith Conference and the NBA, until they're one and the same.
REBOUNDING JOE
Terps sophomore center Joe Smith followed one of his worst games with one of his best. A breakdown of both games:
Opp. .. .. .. FGM-A .. Reb. .. Blk. .. Pts.
Duke .. .. ... 2-10 .. . 5 ... . 2 ... .. 6
Virginia . ... 9-13 ... 21 ... . 7 ... . 29
Season ... ... 59.3 . 10.1 ... 2.9 ... 20.0