STORY WRITTEN BY GABRIELA CARROL, Philadelphia Inquirer - MAR. 21, 2024

布莱克·史密斯在他的西北大学生涯中第二次首发, and his first start at home, against Iowa on 3月 2. 两周前，这位vwin德赢娱乐的毕业生根本不在阵容中. But as injuries wreaked havoc on Northwestern’s roster, opportunity knocked for 史密斯, and he took it.

“We had 60 former Northwestern players come back that day, and probably a handful of them, five or six of them, were walk-ons. 他们说, ‘We’re living our best life right now through Blake 史密斯,’”西北大学助理教练布莱恩·詹姆斯——前76人助理教练——告诉《vwin娱乐场官方》.

“最后，当比赛进入关键时刻，一名替补上场了，而且表现不错. …That’s every walk-on’s dream,” James said.

史密斯, a sophomore guard, 本场比赛他得到了职业生涯最高的11分，并出场29分钟，成为西北大学(21胜11负)轮换阵容中的主力, 12-8 in the Big Ten), which opens play in the NCAA Tournament on Friday as the No. 东部9号种子对阵8号种子佛罗里达大西洋队(25胜8负), 14-4 American Athletic) at 12:15 p.m. 在CBS3.

在vwin德赢娱乐(Germantown Academy)上大四的时候，史密斯没有收到任何一级联赛的录取通知. 他考虑过要去一所三级学校，但最终还是提前申请了西北大学，攻读体育广播专业的学位.

“如果篮球成功了，那就成功了，”史密斯告诉《vwin娱乐场官方》.

As a senior at GA, 史密斯获得了全校际联赛的荣誉，并引起了莫尔文预备队主教练保罗·罗曼楚克的注意, 他的姐夫恰好是西北大学的主教练克里斯·柯林斯(他是前76人球员和主教练道格·柯林斯的儿子).

Romanczuk heard from Diana Caramanico, a friend and one of the assistants on Germantown Academy’s staff, that 史密斯 had already been accepted at Northwestern, which is often the biggest hurdle in recruiting.

“We played them once and I was impressed and thought, this kid should be able to play college basketball somewhere,” Romanczuk said. “He’s 6-foot-5, maybe 6-6, he’s skilled. He’s got a lot of athletic talent. ...

“We played them a second time. After the game, I actually said something to Blake. I said, ‘Blake, I understand you’re going to Northwestern. Congratulations, what a great school. If you would be interested, 我可以帮你联系一位助理教练或者我姐夫, and maybe something can work out,’ ” Romanczuk said.

At the time, Northwestern didn’t have a walk-on spot available. 罗曼楚克认为，史密斯可能会得到一个当经理的机会, and connected him with assistant coach James. 史密斯的父亲加入了北卡罗来纳篮球队, so he had familiarity with the process.

史密斯 kept in touch with James and Romanczuk, and after a different walk-on candidate chose another school, 史密斯 got his opportunity and made the team.

最初，史密斯希望只在比赛的两端得到上场时间. 他在大一赛季打了三场比赛，并打算在2023-24赛季穿上红衫，以保持他的第五年资格. 而不是, 因为首发后卫泰·贝里在今年2月因伤结束了赛季, 史密斯 got a shot at the regular lineup.

“教练找到我，说他可以让我在防守端轮转，只是为了给球场带来能量和努力, so I just took the opportunity,史密斯说. “最终，在一天结束的时候，我只想出去玩. That’s why I was going to redshirt, to have that fifth year to play, but the opportunity approached me faster. ... 我认为这是一个很好的机会，可以加速进入球场，展示我的能力.”

史密斯 was thrown directly into the fire. In his first career start, against Maryland on Feb. 28, 他的任务是防守“十大联盟”一队控卫贾米尔·杨, who had dropped 36 on the Wildcats during their game in January.

Jumping from the scout team to the rotation was a challenge.

“Oftentimes I was running other teams’ plays, or I was helping the guys prep for the other team instead,史密斯说. “Now it’s reversed and I’m on the team. I have to be focused on our principles and our plays. 我只是把自己重新融入那种模式，‘好吧，这是什么 we需要做什么才能赢，而不是展示其他球队需要做什么来帮助我们的球员赢球.”

史密斯 has averaged 18.在西北大学的最后7场比赛中只打了4分钟，而野猫队的前25场比赛总共只打了3分钟.

“I definitely felt like I was a walk-on at times and was like, I need to prove to myself that I can compete at this high level, especially since I didn’t have any Division I offers,史密斯说.

His high school coach, 马修·多兰, 史密斯无私的表现帮助他在vwin德赢娱乐脱颖而出. 这些特质帮助他在西北的阵容中占据了一席之地.

“He’s done a great job in the weight room,” Dolan said. “He’s gotten stronger. He plays more physically, plays more confidently. 看了他们在步行者的比赛，他在防守端的活跃程度是惊人的.

“他多次扑在场上，(在无球情况下)以50比50的比分取胜。. He’s got great size and length. He’s instinctive and he is locked in on the defensive end. He’s in gaps and he’s in the correct position. He’s tough to score on and makes an impact.”

“This kid has been a joy to coach,” James said. “I can’t speak for what’s going to happen in the future, but I would be surprised if he’s a walk-on after this year.”