Matt L. Stephens

matthewstephens@coloradoan.com

Dwight Smith has his bachelor's degree in hand and is hitting the road for his final season of NCAA eligibility, but he's not going far.

The former CSU guard told The Coloradoan on Wednesday that he'll play his senior year at Northern Colorado, located 30 miles east of Fort Collins in Greeley. And because Smith graduated earlier this month, he won't be forced to sit out a year after transferring.

"It came down to an extreme gut decision. Honestly, between North Dakota State and UNC, it was a complete toss up. No matter where I went, both were a great situation," Smith said. "It just came down to the relationship I had with the players over there. I'm happy I'll get to stay close."

Not only will Smith not have a short distance to move, he'll also get to welcome his former teammates to his new home this winter. Colorado State University and UNC play each other every season and with the previous two meetings happening in Moby Arena, the 2014 matchup should move back to Butler-Hancock Pavilion. It'll be a bit of an funny situation, Smith admitted, but said he's not nervous. Instead, he's using it as motivation to get him back in peak shape, like at the end of his sophomore season, before injuries slowed him down.

Smith played three seasons with CSU, redshirting during the Rams' record-breaking NCAA tournament season in 2012-13 due an injured ankle. During his career, he's averaged 3.6 points on 46.8 percent shooting from the field in 13.1 minutes per game. Smith's best individual showing came in CSU's Mountain West tournament loss to Utah State last season, scoring 21 and grabbing eight rebounds.

He was again pivotal in the Rams' come-from-behind win at Air Force on Feb. 8, grabbing seven rebounds, two steals and an assist leading to a Gerson Santo dunk that gave CSU the lead. The Omaha, Nebraska, native missed much of the 2013-14 season with a broken hand and an injured knee, but is revered for his defensive prowess — something UNC coach B.J. Hill has always been a fan of.

"I remember the year I sat out and we were playing UNC at Moby. Coach Hill came up to me before the game — no one else was around — and he just talked to me for a good 5, 10 minutes and told me he admired me as a player and it sucked that I was hurt," Smith said. "He wished I had a better situation and I was his type of guy with my toughness.

"That stuck with me. A lot of coaches contacted me that year I was hurt and wished me well, but that conversation always stood out. I trust him."

Smith added that he's hoping to follow in his brother, Greg's, footsteps and play basketball professionally after college, but if that doesn't work out, he wants to coach.

CSU's Larry Eustachy previously stated he wouldn't be at all surprised if Smith eventually landed on the Rams staff as he was one of their best recruiters hosting players on visits. Furman and South Dakota, where former CSU assistants Niko Medved and Craig Smith are now head coaches, are other programs Smith said he'd love to be a part of some day.

Follow reporter Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.