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After a six-game absence, Dennis Smith Jr made his return to the Mavs and put up 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in just 21 minutes against the Pistons. In attendance, was one of Smith's biggest long-time supporters: hip-hop artist J. Cole, who once called himself a “poor man’s Dwyane Wade.”

"I've kind of gotten used it," Said Smith, when asked about Cole going crazy on the sidelines after one of his plays. "He sat courtside at almost every home game at NC State. He came out to the summer league and sat courtside. He's just been out touring and finally made it back and came out to show his love. So I appreciate it."

The relationship between the Fayetteville stars goes back to 2014 when Cole invited a 17-year-old Smith to a private listening party for his album '2014 Forest Hills Drive.' It was also in 2014 when this video of Cole, at a roller rink, challenged Smith to a game of basketball.

A few days after the challenge, they ended up playing in a pick-up game at an elementary school. And it was on this day the 6'3" Cole learned first-hand why Smith was the #1 ranked point guard in the nation. He also got to see Smith's freakish athleticism in action on this layup attempt.

According to this interview in The USA Today, Smith sounded surprised and pretty impressed by Cole's game.

“He came out aggressive the first game and scored a good amount of his team’s buckets,” Said Smith. “Then I was like, ‘Wow, dude can hoop for real!’ It was more competitive than I expected, and that in itself was respectable.

“It was a good run; definitely looking forward to the next one!”

Besides a good run, the Grammy-nominated artist also gave Smith some wise advice about school.

Via Slam

Definitely about my grades and keeping them up. He was a smart guy growing up. He told me to stay focused on ball and then he asked me the main question that I’m asked from everybody: ‘What college do I want to go to?’

He’s a big UNC fan. He told me that ‘I’m a UNC fan, but I want you to go wherever is best for you.’

Despite going to North Carolina State instead of UNC, Cole continued to support Smith and was a common sight on the sidelines, celebrating when Smith would put a defender on a poster (see below).

I don't expect to see Cole at too many Dallas Mavs games but if he does show, and Smith does show out, it probably won't be too hard to spot Cole on the sidelines.

Source: Dallas News

The post Fayetteville's Finest: Dennis Smith Jr & J. Cole Through The Years appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

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The post Mike Hueitt & Jordan Ratliffe TURN UP in Dreamville Battle of the Week! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

"Dennis Smith was phenomenal," Loyola coach Porter Moser said. "He was like (Russell) Westbrook the way he was that quick and that athletic... I mean, he's all that and more than advertised."

Smith's back-court teammate, Torin Dorn, also added 20 points for the Wolfpack and shot 51% from the floor. Be sure to check out Torin dropping a defender and hitting a three in the second half of the video above. Also worth nothing that fellow guard, Terry Henderson, is featured in this video as well absolutely posterizing a defender in the first half.

If NC State can figure things out on the defensive end, and once they add big man Omer Yurtseven to the roster in the mid-season, they might be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time. State fans are always looking for a reason to get excited, and congratulations, because Dennis Smith Jr is the best player NC State has had since the days that Jim Valvano brought a championship back to Raleigh.

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The post Dennis Smith First 30 pt Game in College a Day After 19th Birthday! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Check out Dennis Smith Jr's Ultimate High School Mixtape

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The post Dennis Smith Jr Making College Look Easy at Primetime with the Pack appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

In 3-on-3 competition the first day, Smith was teamed up with Iowa State's Monte Morris and SMU's Shake Milton. The three combined to be a deadly trio, hitting shot after shot from deep led by DSJ. At one point during the action, Smith was able to hit 5 straight threes before his "heat-check" 5th attempt came off the rim. Fast forward to Day 2 and that was when we really saw him turn it on.

In the final 4-on-4 competition Smith used his signature "hesi" to get passed his defender, only to be met by newest member of the OKC Thunder - Victor Oladipo, at the rim for the emphatic block. After that exchange, Smith decided to pick up Oladipo the rest of the way on defense and more than held his own against the young budding NBA star. Smith was able to strip the ball from Oladipo as he tried to hit a fade-away jumper in the corner and proceeded to call Oladipo's drive "soft" on the following possession. It's no wonder why scouts are raving about the Fayetteville native as he seems to just possess that "dog" mentality to go after it no matter what. Look for the Dreamville product to make some NOISE this upcoming year with NC State Wolfpack. Life is all about how you handle situations and it seems evident that Dennis Smith Jr's knee injury has done nothing but added fuel to already pretty incredible fire. As he stated himself Saturday, his goal for next season "is to win a National Championship." Check out these raw highlights from the CP3 Elite Camp!

The post Dennis Smith Challenges NBA's Victor Oladipo at CP3 Elite Camp! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

There wasn't a more entertaining duo in the #HoopState than the Johnson brothers from Fayetteville. Dreamville's "Dynamic Duo" led their Terry Sanford Bulldogs to a 30-2 record and an appearance in the NCHSAA 3A State Championship a year after winning the crown in 2015. Sophomore Malik Johnson is the point guard and play maker of the two. His brother Telligence is the high-flyer and supreme athlete of the show. They'll both be running in the Adidas Silver Circuit this AAU season with Team Wall so be out the lookout for more highlights from the next up from Dreamville!

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Dennis Smith Jr is an 18 year old native of Fayetteville, NC and is currently enrolled as a freshman at NC State University. The 6'2" point guard is considered to be a potential lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Smith was ranked the #1 point guard in the country going into his senior year before tearing his ACL in early August. Luckily, he was able to graduate early from Trinity Christian Academy and enroll at NC State this past January (2015). On campus, he has been able to rehab daily with NCSU doctors, attend practices, sit on the bench during games, & acclimate to the life of a college basketball player. A process that Wolfpack Nation hopes will allow Smith to find his comfort zone sooner rather than later in the 2016-2017 season.

This new mixtape is an accumulation of the best plays from Smith's high school and AAU career. It includes footage from his time at Trinity Christian, a variety of national adidas events, Nike EYBL, Under Armour Elite 24 and more! We were blessed enough to cover Dennis over 3 seasons and summers and the number of highlights is unbelievable. Below I added some of the collection of Dennis' BallisLife mixtapes in chronological order.

Senior Summer 2015

Stephen Curry Camp 2015

Junior Year at Trinity Christian | 2014-2015 Season

Sophomore Year at Trinity Christian | 2013-2014 Season

Comparisons? His favorite player is Russell Westbrook, which explains his aggressive play. The most common comparisons are former NBA greats Steve Francis & Baron Davis, even though he is more competitive than both. Regardless of comparisons, the reality is, Dennis Smith Jr is a terror on both ends of the court. I'll leave the scouting reports to the scouts; just know that Dennis is one of the few guys who's game, and mixtapes, live up the hype.

How's the rehab coming? Word we're getting on campus is that Dennis is back in kill mode. Playing at around 85%, he's dunks are coming back and he's begun abusing the rest of NC State's back-court.

Dennis Smith Jr comes from the same soil as hip/hop icon, J Cole, and hopes that he will be the next big role model for and from "Dreamville."

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The post Dear College Basketball: Good Luck Guarding Dennis Smith Jr appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Article via Jason Jordan of USATODAYHSS.COM

Havelock (Havelock, N.C.) point guard Kyran Bowman couldn’t make the Fayetteville, N.C., leg of J. Cole’s Forest Hills Drive tour last August when the hip hop star famously surprised his hometown with performances from Jay Z and Drake.

“I really wanted to go too,” Bowman, a senior, recalled. “I figure since I couldn’t make it to his show I’d just put on a show for him.”

With J. Cole looking on, Bowman scored 45 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and handed out six assists, but fell short in an 82-76 loss to Terry Sanford (Fayetteville, N.C.) Tuesday night in the NCHSAA 3A playoffs.

“It was a tough loss,” Bowman said. “I just tried to do everything possible for my team to get the win, but we came up a little short. It’s a tough one.”

Still, Bowman admitted that putting on a show for one his “favorite rappers” offered some consolation.

“When I heard he was watching I did get a little more excited,” Bowman said. “I wanted the win, no doubt, but it was cool that he came out to watch the game. He made this one to remember.”

J. Cole could say the same.

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Kenny Dobbs surprised the crowd with special guest Cedric Ceballos as he came and donned KD with the same blind fold he used to win the 1992 NBA dunk contest. Kenny Dobbs went on to put down this crazy dunk to send the crowd and judges in a frenzy.

The post Kenny Dobbs BLINDFOLDED Dubble Up Over 3 SHUTS IT DOWN Infront Of NBA Players & J Cole! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.