Dennis Smith is the newest Maverick.
The North Carolina State point guard was chosen with the ninth overall pick in Thursday night's NBA draft. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee as a senior in high school, but rebounded to be newcomer of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
He is an explosive player who has a tremendous vertical leap.
He averaged 18.1 points per game as a freshman and had a pair of triple-doubles, very rare for any college player.
The Mavericks were hopeful of getting a point guard with their pick and Smith was the fifth point guard taken among the top nine picks.
Smith has said he wants to be rookie of the year in the NBA and plans to achieve that by "doing the same thing I did last year, continue to work hard," as he said on ESPN's telecast after being selected.
He also said the night went like he expected it to.
The Mavericks have been consulting with former N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried this week at their training facility as speculation grew that he would be the choice for the Mavericks.
