Keith Smart: One shot, one title, one unforgettable moment

• ANDREWS: NBA TV talent shares its tourney experiences • Juan Dixon | M. Camby | C. Douglas-Roberts | L. Head • Keith Smart | Kiki Vandeweghe | Jarvis Hayes | D. Cook • Josh Boone | Mike Bibby | Al Horford | Mario Chalmers • Jordan Farmar | Rashad McCants | Hakim Warrick • Ray Allen | Glen Davis | Rajon Rondo • NCAA to NBA: An in-depth look at some tournament facts

Name: Keith Smart, Golden State Warriors assistant coach

School: Indiana University, 1986-88

Tournament credentials: 1987 national champion, 1987 NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player

My NCAA moment: I had the chance to be in the game for a chance to play for the national championship. We ran a motion-type offense and we looked for whatever was available and we took advantage of that. Of course we looked for Steve Alford in our offense first and if he wasn't open, then we looked for Rick Calloway or Dean Garrett and Daryl Thomas. If those guys weren't open, it was up for me to make a play. I threw the ball in to Daryl Thomas, he didn't have anything, he threw it back to me and I was able to get a shot off before the time expired. [Editor's note: Smart's corner jumper is affectionately known as "The Shot" and lifted Indiana to a 74-73 lead over Syracuse with three seconds remaining.]

[The shot] was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I had just taken [a similar shot] from the other side of the floor probably about two plays before that and it was short. I knew on the next one I knew I needed to jump up and shoot up. One of our assistant coaches would always scream about, 'Jump up, shoot up!' so I knew if I had that opportunity for a jump shot, that I needed to get some nice lift on the basketball.

I Think About My NCAA Trip ...: There's probably not a day that goes by [that I don't]. One, the business I'm in, of course being in the NBA when I'm traveling with nametags and things like that, people recognize it. Or, if someone is dropping a bag off to my room it's, 'Hey, I remember that moment, I remember what I was doing.' Or if I'm traveling and flying out somewhere, someone will recognize the name and then right away start talking about the tournament, so it's pretty much an everyday thing, especially in the environment that I'm in.

At Home to Remind Me: I had a ton of things, but we lost our house in a fire in '94, so everything I ever had from playing sports throughout my childhood, to college, everything that I ever owned is gone. The one thing though, a lot of fans -- even some Syracuse fans -- found out that had happened and actually started sending things back to me. So, I did get a lot of things back, but none of the originals.

Who I'm Watching This Year (Teams): Believe it or not, when you're an assistant coach in the NBA you don't get a chance to pay a lot of attention. You catch pieces of games here and there, you look at all the top teams and the top players that everyone is talking about, but with our schedule and studying NBA games and getting ready for games, it's almost impossible to do. But we do get a chance on a day like this when the tournament starts to look at certain teams play when you have a minute, but never to where you can study them in strong detail. You kind of piggyback on who's hot and who's playing well and this is what some people are talking about and maybe then you just pay a little more attention to that particular player.

My team is not in there, so I'm a free guy. I don't really have a pick. I'm a fan of the tournament, of course and so I like the Cinderellas who have a chance, a shot, and I also like the teams that are supposed to win and get to the Final Four and look at how they play and how they perform.

Who I'm Watching This Year (Players): We can't comment on players. That's a big fine [laughing].