Russ Smith Named to The Athletic's Top 25 Men's CBB Players of the 2000's

For better or for worse, few Louisville men's basketball players could make you hold your breath like Russ Smith did. While his wild and reckless play style sometimes made fans want to pull their hair, Smith's elite shooting abilities and acrobatic finishing ability around the rim regularly put the Cardinals on the right side of the win/loss column.

So when The Athletic released their list of men's college basketball's top 25 players since the year 2000, naturally, "Russdiculous" was an easy inclusion. The former UofL shooting guard, who is one of just five players in program history to have their jersey retired, came in at No. 17 on the list.

"If you’re an analytics junkie, you’re probably arguing for Smith to be higher," The Athletic's Lindsay Schnell wrote. "The former Cardinals guard is one of two players in the KenPom era to be a back-to-back player of the year based on his individual KenPom player rating. After Kevin Ware’s gruesome broken leg in the 2013 regional final, Smith stepped up to score 23 points and win regional most outstanding player honors. He led Louisville to the national championship that year, the Cardinals’ first since 1986."

Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony, Villanova's Jalen Brunson, Davidson's Steph Curry, Kentucky's Anthony Davis and UConn's Kemba Walker round out the top five.

Smith is Louisville’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 1,908 points, and is the Cardinals' career leader in steals with 257. He is also second in career free throws made with 488, and is tied for ninth in career three-pointers with 180.

The Brooklyn, N.Y. native helped lead the Cardinals to the 2013 national championship - their third in school history - averaging 18.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals as a junior that year. His 2013-14 senior season was his best in a Louisville uniform, putting up 18.2 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, and was named a consensus First Team All-American for his efforts.