Duke assistant coach Nolan Smith leaves for another ACC job

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Duke’s Nolan Smith is reportedly leaving Durham to take a job on Kenny Payne’s staff at Louisville.

Smith just finished his first season as an assistant coach at Duke and was expected to be retained on Jon Scheyer’s staff next season. Instead, he’ll head to Louisville to be a top assistant in Payne’s first season.

According to college basketball’s Jeff Goodman, the Cardinals “broke the bank” to lure Smith away from Duke.

BREAKING: Duke assistant Nolan Smith is headed to Louisville to join Kenny Payne on staff, source told @Stadium.

Smith’s father starred at Louisville and the Cards broke the bank to get Nolan — one of the rising stars in the industry.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 4, 2022

Smith’s father, Derek Smith, starred at Louisville from 1978-82. He scored 14.8 points per game on Louisville’s 1980 National Championship team.

This will leave a major opening on Duke’s staff going into next season. Filling that vacancy will be one of the first tasks for Scheyer, who officially takes over the program this week.

Smith was a big factor in recruiting for the class of 2022. The Blue Devils landed 4 5-star prospects in that cycle, including potential lottery picks Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II. The class ranks No. 1 in the country, per 247Sports Composite rankings.