| Ishmael Smith |
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Smith's Career Bio & Statistics 
Lightning quick point guard who has started for the Deacons from day one of his freshman year ... Consummate team leader both on the court and off ... Combines with Jeff Teague to give Wake Forest one of the quickest back courts in the country ... Has developed a knack for hitting clutch shots late in games ... Hit game-winners in the waning seconds against Virginia Tech and Miami last season ... Looks to pass first but has scoring ability as well ... Led the ACC in assists as a rookie in 2006-07 ... Perfect fit for Wake Forest's up-tempo offense ... Reminds some of Chris Paul because of his quickness and fearlessness in the lane.
2007-08 (Sophomore)
Served as a team captain ... Started all 30 games at point guard ... Was the only Deacon to start every game of the season ... Played a team-high 32.1 minutes per game ... Led the team with 141 assists, an average of 4.7 per contest ... Ranked third on the squad in steals (40) and fourth in scoring (8.6 ppg) ... Averaged 9.9 points and 4.75 assists per game in conference play ... Led the team with 24 steals in league contests ... Finished among the ACC leaders in assists (5th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.68; 7th) ... In conference games only, ranked among the league's best in assists (4th), assist/turnover ratio (4th) and minutes played (34.6; 9th) ... Scored in double figures 11 times and led the team in scoring four times ... Led the Deacs in assists 25 times and in rebounding twice ... Drew nine charges on defense, the second-most on the team ... Posted three turnover-free games on the year ... Dished out seven assists in the season opener against Fairfield on Nov. 9 ... Had eight points, five assists and just one turnover Nov. 19 vs. N.C. Central ... Tallied a career-high tying four steals Nov. 26 at Iowa ... Tied his career-high with nine rebounds at Charlotte on Nov. 29 ... Began a streak of four straight games in double figures scoring with 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting Dec. 1 vs. USC Upstate ... Had 12 points and eight assists at Vanderbilt on Dec. 5 ... Scored 14 points three days later at Georgia ... Went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field for 11 points vs. Bucknell on Dec. 16 ... Opened ACC play in grand fashion with 18 points, including the game-winning bucket, on Dec. 23 against Virginia Tech ... Drilled the game-winner on a jumper from the right elbow with one second remaining to cap a 10-0 run and give the Deacons a 77-75 comeback win over the Hokies ... Dished out a season-high 11 assists with no turnovers Jan. 2 vs. Presbyterian ... Scored 10 points against BYU on Jan. 8 ... Turned in 16 points and six assists with no turnovers Jan. 15 at Maryland ... Posted career-highs of 19 points, four steals, eight field goals and 42 minutes Jan. 22 at Clemson ... Once again came up big late in the game Jan. 29 vs. Miami ... Hit the game-winning shot from the right elbow with three seconds remaining to give the Deacs a 70-68 defeat of the Hurricanes ... Also dished out six assists with no turnovers against Miami ... Followed with 15 points Feb. 3 at NC State ... Turned in 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with six assists against Virginia on Feb. 9 ... Dished out eight assists at Florida State on Feb. 14 ... Had eight assists Feb. 24 at North Carolina and seven assists a game later against Maryland on Feb. 28 ... Scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting Mar. 8 vs. NC State ... Tallied eight points and six assists in the Mar. 13 ACC Tournament game against FSU.
2006-07 (Freshman)
Played in all 31 games and started 30 times ... Missed just one start (Nov. 17 vs. Elon) when he was five minutes late to shoot-around ... Became just the fifth freshman in the history of the ACC to lead the league in assists (6.0 apg) ... Was the first Deacon in 20 years, since Muggsy Bogues in 1987, to lead the ACC in assists ... Broke the Wake Forest freshman record for assists, previously held by Chris Paul, with 186 ... Was the second-leading scorer on the team (8.7 ppg) ... Ranked fourth on the team with 3.8 rebounds per game ... Sank 23 three-point field goals ... Struggled at the free throw line, shooting just 46.2 percent (42-of-91) ... Had 186 assists and just 112 turnovers, giving him the seventh-best assist-turnover ratio in the ACC ... Led the team in steals with 36 ... Scored in double figures 12 times ... Had three double-figure assist games ... Recorded three double-doubles ... Led the Deacons in rebounding four times ... Was Wake's leader in assists in 27 of 31 games ... Drew eight charges on defense ... Dished out eight or more assists nine times ... Began his college career in grand fashion with a double-double (12 points, 11 assists) in season opener vs. James Madison, breaking the Wake Forest freshman record for single-game assists ... Scored 14 points and hit a key three-pointer in overtime at Bucknell Nov. 14 ... Scored 17 points and dished out nine assists in a key win over Vanderbilt Nov. 21 ... Had another double-double (12 points, 11 assists) Dec. 29 at South Florida ... Scored 15 points and was 2-of-3 from three-point range Jan. 1 against East Carolina ... Scored 13 points at Virginia Jan. 21 ... Had 14 points, five assists and three steals Feb. 28 at NC State ... Dished out a career-high 15 assists, breaking a Wake Forest freshman record and an ACC Tournament record, March 28 against Georgia Tech in the opening round of the ACC Tournament.
High School
Ranked as the No. 28 point guard in the country according to Rivals.com ... Listed in Rivals's top 130 prospects for the class of 2006 ... Rated by Scout.com as the No. 17 point guard and the No. 82 prospect nationally ... A four-star recruit according to Scout ... Part of a Wake Forest recruiting class that was ranked No. 10 in the country by Rivals ... Graduated from Central Cabarrus High School in 2006 ... Played under coach Scott Brewer at CCHS ... Finished his career with 1,775 points and a school-record 687 assists ... Led Central Cabarrus to a 25-3 record and a MECA-6 Conference regular season and tournament title as a senior ... Averaged 24.8 points and 9.8 assists per game as a senior ... Named the Meca-6 Conference Player of the Year in 2006 ... Earned all-conference honors in 2005 and 2006 ... Named the Charlotte Observer's Piedmont Player of the Year in 2005 and in 2006 ... Led Central Cabarrus to a 20-8 record and to the sectional finals as a junior ... Averaged 24.7 points, eight assists and five steals per game during his junior season ... Scored 30 points and dished out nine assists against powerful Oak Hill Academy in 2005-06 ... Competed in the same conference as Jamie Skeen and North Mecklenburg HS ... Played in the 2006 Carolinas Classic All-Star game ... Played AAU basketball for the North Carolina Gaters.
Personal
Given name is Ishmael Larry Smith ... Nickname is "Ish" ... Son of Gwen and Larry Smith ... Has three siblings - two sisters and one brother ... Born July 5, 1988 in Charlotte, N.C. ... Majoring in religion ... Chose Wake Forest because he liked the Demon Deacons' style of play ... Committed verbally to the Deacons in late June of 2005 ... Selected Wake Forest over a number of schools including Charlotte, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Xavier and Maryland.
