Andre Smith felt confident enough after a couple of final tests this week to give himself a nickname.
"I walked into practice and Coach Miles asked me how I did. I said, 'Best tests I've ever taken. I'm Mr. Clutch. I perform in the clutch,' " Smith said.
That was Monday, according to North Dakota State basketball coach Tim Miles. On Tuesday, Smith lived up to his moniker again - this time on the Bison Sports Arena court.
In a game that was expected to showcase Denver senior center Yemi Nicholson, the 6-foot-11 athletic behemoth who received a write-up in Sports Illustrated as one of the five best players in college basketball you've never heard of, Smith and the Bison stole the show.
The final score was 79-66 in favor of NDSU, with point guard Ben Woodside again providing the buzz. But Smith more than did his part, too, pouring in 19 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
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Nicholson's 27 points - including four atomic dunks - were impressive, no doubt. But Smith, an undersized D-I post player at 6-7, left a bigger impression with his hustle and hard work.
The junior transfer from North Dakota State College of Science has been a find for the fuzzy-cheeked Bison. That's come as no surprise to Miles, even if those of us on the outside didn't expect Smith to contribute as much as he has.
"He's been very good for us. You don't always think you're going to depend on a junior college player real heavily, but I find myself looking to Andre," Miles said. "He hasn't let us down yet. He is coming through."
Offensively, Smith can look unorthodox with a shot that seems to pop out of his hand prematurely. But if Smith looks like he's throwing up out-of-control floaters in the lane, the numbers don't lie. His 13-point average includes games of 20, 16 and now 19 in NDSU's past four contests.
He also, by the way, slammed on Nicholson after using a head fake that had the big fellow planted on the floor like a 260-pound anvil.
"He's naturally just a scorer," said Bison freshman Brett Winkelman, who chipped in with a rock-solid 14 points and 8 rebounds. "When he gets the ball in his hands, he has moves and can just get the ball in the basket. He did it in junior college and now he's come here and he's doing the same thing and doing it well."
Smith and Winkelman combined on a key second-half play that epitomized NDSU's boundless energy and Denver's lethargy on this night.
After the Pioneers made a mini-run to slash an 11-point Bison lead to 52-45 with 11 minutes remaining, Winkelman sprinted after a loose ball that was bouncing out of bounds and dived to save it. Denver's Alex Cox went to the floor to grab it, but Smith went after the ball with gusto and snatched it from Cox. He quickly called timeout to steal a possession for the Bison.
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Out of the timeout, Mike Nelson drilled a 3-pointer to bump NDSU's lead back to double-digits.
"That was a big hustle play by Wink, chasing that ball out of bounds," Smith said. "I guess it was my job to get on the floor and take it away because Wink hustled so hard after it."
Mr. Clutch. Mr. Unorthodox. Mr. Hustle.
Pick your nickname, they all fit. And it's likely Smith will be just as productive no matter what he's called.
Forum sports columnist Mike McFeely can be heard on the Saturday Morning Sports Show, 10 a.m. to noon on WDAY-AM (970). He can be reached at (701) 241-5580 or mmcfeely@forumcomm.com
