Carson Smith returns to his dad's old stomping grounds with Bison basketball commitment

“ I played three sports growing up baseball, football, basketball. But I knew I loved basketball the most, it was definitely by far my favorite. I love being around it,” Smith said Monday, after he announced he verbally committed to play basketball at North Dakota State.

“They have been recruiting me for a year now. I've talked to Dave and I love Coach. He's awesome," Smith said. "He's a great person. And I really believe in everything he says. Their playstyle; his program. He's built something great and I’m just really excited to be a Bison."

Smith is a 6-foot-6 combo guard that hails from Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah is not necessarily a recruiting hotbed for the Bison, but the connections to Fargo are strong. Smith’s dad is Craig Smith, the current University of Utah men’s basketball head coach, and former Bison assistant under Tim Miles.

Craig is one of the most respected coaches in the Midwest. He took his first head coaching job at Mayville State in 2004, guiding the Comets to the 2007 NAIA national title game. He then joined Miles at Colorado State and Nebraska as an assistant for the next decade prior to getting his first head coach gig.

One of Craig’s assistant coaches is Jayden Olson, who was Richman’s top assistant coach from 2014-20. Olson is in his first year working with Craig in Salt Lake; they have worked together twice before, first at Colorado State and then again at Nebraska, both under Miles.

“My parents were really excited," Carson said. "One of the first things my dad said was ‘I never thought I'd be cheering for NDSU again’. Which was really funny, but they were super pumped.”

Carson played at Bountiful High School, which is a suburb of Salt Lake City. Bountiful is Class 5A, the second biggest in the state of Utah. He racked up 1,210 points during his varsity career and was a first-team all-state selection.

He says he has some position flexibility of where he envisions himself on the floor.

“I'm not the most athletic player," Carson said. "But I think I really have good game sense. I'm very unselfish. I'll hit open shots. I'm able to knock down shots. I'm a good straight line driver. Good defender. I can play two through the four position. Utah high school basketball is really good. My class is actually very good. We have a lot of high major players which is cool because it creates more competition. It makes me better."

Carson is the fourth high school player for the Bison Class of 2024. Andy Stefonowicz, Treysen Anderson and Isaia Howard signed with NDSU back in November.

Richman has some building to do on his roster for next season. Since the Bison were eliminated at the Summit League touranment in Sioux Falls on March 10, five players have left the team through the transfer portal, most notably, Summit League second-team selection Andrew Morgan.

Richman isn’t allowed to comment on Smith’s commitment until he officially signs with NDSU. The signing period begins on April 17.

Carson said he had a handful of Division II offers and some junior college offers.

“I was definitely willing to wait longer. But again, I love Coach Richman. I really believe in him. And I really believe in that program. And I thought it was the right fit, so I committed to them," he said.

Carson knows full well of the level of play he’s entering in the Summit League. His dad was the coach at the University of South Dakota from 2014-18.

“Midwest basketball as a whole, I think it's physical," Carson said. "The players are still really athletic. Midwest basketball just fits on how I play and how they share the ball."

Carson is the middle of a basketball vacation with his dad. Utah faces Indiana State in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) semifinals tomorrow night in Indianapolis. Carson is hopeful for a win tomorrow night to extend his vacation.

“Yeah I’m hopeful Utah wins tomorrow night and then it’s right to Phoenix and the Final Four this weekend," he said. "I'm just trying to soak it all in because I know when I get to college, I won't have many weekends like this. “