BC's Smith has molded himself, Eagles into a beast

	By working hard in the weight room, BC's Craig Smith morphed from a chubby freshman into one of the most feared big men in the nation. John W. McDonough/SI

By Kevin Armstrong, Special to SI.com

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Having just walked off his home court for the last time, Boston College senior center Craig Smith looked up at the appreciative fans as he headed to the locker room and felt at peace. No more games were left to play here. No more starting lineups to be announced with his name included. No more knees to be skinned on this hardwood. Four years after losing his first home game to Jameer Nelson's St. Joseph's team, Smith closed the door on his career at Conte Forum with a 59-57 win over Virginia Tech on Senior Day.

It was March 4, but for all intents and purposes it was known to the BC community as Smith's official send-off. Eager reporters and television cameras were awaiting his arrival down the hall. Teammates were receiving postgame treatment in the trainer's room, and Eagles head coach Al Skinner was wrapping up his postgame session with the media. But Smith had a few things to do first.

Taking his time and soaking in his last moments at Conte, Smith scribbled his name on basketballs and game programs, stepped into the stands to thank onlookers and posed for fans with camera phones -- a lasting image of Smith on his way out. Ice packs and wraps would soon cover his knees and right wrist, but this was a respite period for the senior. His homework was done.

Before he could set out on his postseason journey -- which began with an epic run to the ACC tournament final and continues on Friday night against No. 1-seeded Villanova in the Sweet 16 in Minneapolis -- there was another stop to make. Away from the fans, underneath the mouth of the tunnel to the locker room, two old friends were there to meet the center of attention.

"There he is. Just come back and take care of us 25 years from now when we are all old and fat," said Mo Cassara, currently the head coach at Clark University and formerly Smith's prep school coach at Worcester (Mass.) Academy.

Smith laughed, flashing the bright smile that has shone in the limelight the last four years. Cassara talked with Smith about his prep year in Worcester, reminiscing about the Los Angeles kid who needed a year to prepare for BC's academics and Big East basketball and who came East to Cassara's program looking for a place to develop his mind and mold his body.

To a passerby, it was small talk. But to anyone who knew Smith it revealed the bigger picture. "That smile right there is a signature trait for Craig," said Jamie Sullivan, an assistant coach at Worcester Academy, the school BC coaches encouraged Smith to attend before enrolling at the Heights. "I remember he had braces and was overweight coming to us from L.A. The man he is today was built over the past five years."

Worth the Weight

Exit the BC campus, jump on the Mass. Pike westbound and in 45 minutes you will be in Worcester, a New England city known mostly for its dormant factories and its most famous resident, NBA Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy. It was in this run-down, blue-collar city where the seeds were planted for the blossoming of a bruiser named Craig Smith.

"Did I ever think that he would be what he is today?" asked Cassara, who also coached Portland Trail Blazers guard Jarrett Jack on the same Worcester Academy team, which went a school-best 27-4 in 2001-02. "To be honest, no. But you had to have seen what he looked like then and what his habits were. Give him credit. He worked hard to get where he is today."

What he is today is a first team All-ACC performer. Last year he was first team All-Big East. Two years, two conferences, one common theme: Smith can bang with the best, but it's the softer, subtler moves that make him stand out.

"When he came to us, he could only [bench] 140 pounds," Sullivan said. "One of the teachers at Worcester Academy who runs the weight room always said that anybody who can outbench him can put on any music in the weight room that he wants. By the end of the year Craig was benching over 300 pounds and was in charge of the music."

Lifting to his own tunes was not the only change for the kid from Los Angeles. "Because I'm from Worcester, I'm in charge of helping the kids getting adjusted to the area," Sullivan said. "Craig hated the cold weather. I remember we had to take him to get him new clothes. His mother would send money because he didn't have the winter clothes."

Warmth came in the weight room and on the hardwood. Outside snow fell and Smith missed home, but he says that only helped him stay focused and drove him to improve.

"I knew it would be hard being 3,000 miles from home," Smith said. "But I knew I also had to work to get better and get a chance to play at this level."

So he did. Shedding pounds and gaining wisdom, Smith set out to be at his best the next year in Chestnut Hill, where he would join All-America guard Troy Bell in the starting lineup.