Louisville

Pelicans.com

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has assigned rookie point guard Russ Smith to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. This will be Smith’s third assignment of the season.

In his most recent assignment, Smith, 6-0, 185, appeared in four games for Fort Wayne, averaging 17.5 points, and 7.8 assists. Overall, Smith has appeared in six games with Fort Wayne, averaging 16.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals.

Smith has appeared in six games for New Orleans, averaging 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Smith appeared in six preseason contests for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 assists and 0.8 rebounds.

Drafted out of the University of Louisville by Philadelphia with the 47th overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, Smith was acquired by New Orleans in a draft night trade.

pelicans-assign-russ-smith-to-fort-wayne-mad-ants-2

Pelicans Assign Russ Smith to Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Vice president of digital media for New Orleans Pelicans.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has recalled rookie point guard Russ Smith from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

In his recent assignment, the second of the season, Smith, 6-0, 185, appeared in four games for Fort Wayne, averaging 17.5 points, and 7.8 assists. Overall, Smith has appeared in six games with Fort Wayne, averaging 16.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals.

Smith has appeared in three games for New Orleans, averaging 0.3 rebounds per game. Smith appeared in six preseason contests for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 assists and 0.8 rebounds.

Smith will be in New Orleans and available for tonight’s home game against Portland.

pelicans-recall-russ-smith-from-fort-wayne-mad-ants-2

Pelicans Recall Russ Smith From Fort Wayne Mad Ants

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has assigned rookie point guard Russ Smith to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

Smith, 6-0, 185, has appeared in two games for Fort Wayne, averaging 14.5 points and 3.0 steals in 25.5 minutes per game.

pelicans-assign-russ-smith-to-fort-wayne-mad-ants

Smith, 6-0, 185, appeared in two games over the weekend for Fort Wayne, helping the Mad Ants win both contests. In 25.5 minutes per game, Smith averaged 14.5 points and 3.0 steals.

pelicans-recall-russ-smith-from-fort-wayne-mad-ants

Pelicans Recall Russ Smith from Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Smith, 6-0, 185, has appeared in three games for New Orleans, averaging 0.3 rebounds per game. Smith appeared in six preseason contests for the Pelicans, averaging 5.0 points, 1.2 assists and 0.8 rebounds.

pelicans-assign-russ-smith-to-fort-wayne-mad-ants-3

Jim Eichenhofer

1)      The Pelicans will play their second preseason game tonight in Atlanta, facing the Hawks at 6:30 p.m. Central. The matchup will be broadcast live by Pelicans radio (on WWWL 1350 AM tonight), starting at 6:30. If you’re outside the team’s coverage area, you can listen online here.

2)      New Orleans opened preseason 1-0 on Saturday, using a solid performance by its bench to defeat Miami, 98-86, in Louisville. Jimmer Fredette led the reserves with 17 points.

3)      Watch Pelicans.com’s exclusive Pelicans-Heat highlights, from a game that was not televised by either team.

4)      Check out a photo gallery from Saturday.

5)      Anthony Davis played only in the first quarter Saturday, part of the Pelicans’ plan to prepare he and fellow FIBA World Cup participant Omer Asik for the regular season. Read more about Davis’ offseason work.

five-things-to-know-about-the-pelicans-on-oct-6

Five things to know about the Pelicans on Oct. 6

preseason-game-1-pelicans-vs-heat-10-4-14

Preseason Game 1: Pelicans vs. Heat 10/4/14

LOUISVILLE – It was understandably billed by many in Kentucky as the Russ Smith Homecoming Game, and the New Orleans rookie didn’t disappoint, packing a myriad of highlights and action into his NBA debut Saturday at his former college arena. Smith finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two steals, playing exclusively in the second half. The amiable 6-foot local favorite drew a standing ovation when he entered the lineup, then proceeded to make a quick imprint on the exhibition game.

For the Pelicans from a bigger-picture standpoint, however, there were many other noteworthy individual developments, particularly for a team coming off an injury-ravaged season and trying to incorporate several new faces:

After New Orleans’ starting group played only the first quarter together, five different Pelicans reserves reached double digits in scoring, headed by Fredette’s 17. Smith, Anderson and Austin Rivers deposited 12 points apiece in a balanced, energized preseason victory.

“I liked the way we worked tonight,” Pelicans Coach Monty Williams said. “Even when we didn’t execute properly, we competed so hard it looked like we knew what we were doing, especially when we started putting in reserves and watching those guys compete, swarm to the ball, helping each other out, running off of misses (by Miami).”

“We shared the ball pretty well,” Fredette said of New Orleans’ unselfish offensive attack. “We had the ball hopping. I think that’s why we got good, open shots.”

Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis didn’t play after the first quarter, but had five points and three blocks in his brief stint. He spent the rest of Saturday’s game cheering for his teammates, repeatedly standing up when a New Orleans player made a three-pointer. The Pelicans finished 14-for-32 from the arc.

“It was fun watching them go out there and playing to the best of their abilities,” Davis said. “Luke hitting threes, Darius (Miller), Russ, Jimmer. It was all fun to watch.”

Smith did not play until the third quarter, causing the packed house to begin chanting “We want Russ!” The Yum! Center erupted with cheers with the point guard was inserted into the lineup in the third quarter. Smith indicated that he was slightly embarrassed by the attention, not wanting to take away from what was happening in the game.

“I kind of tried to hide my head a little bit on the bench,” Smith said of the chant. “I didn’t want everybody looking at me, in the ‘put the kid in the game’ phase. I was fine (though). It was great. This was great that I got a chance to start (my NBA career) here.”

pelicans-com-postgame-pelicans-98-heat-86

Pelicans.com postgame: Pelicans 98, Heat 86

none

Presented By

Chevron

<a title="Pelicans Livestreams" href="https://www.nba.com/pelicans/live" target="_blank">LIVE: Pelicans End of Season Interviews with David Griffin, Willie Green | WATCH &gt;&gt;</a>