Following the pre-game press conferences of Hornets head coach Charles Lee and Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins, I was minding my own business, going courtside to watch the final few player warm-ups before team intros and tip-off.
Heading courtside, I shimmyed right past former Wake Forest and Hornets PG Ish Smith on my way to media seating, gave a quick "Good to see you back in N.C., Ish!" in passing, and assumed that was the end of it. I'd already half-interrupted the man's conversation with Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall, after all, so I moved on my merry way.
Smith, a 14-year NBA veteran and now a Washington Wizards scout, passed me on the standard media row before the game. I decided in a split second to grab him: I've learned you have to trust your instincts and not hesitate in these moments. The worst anyone will say is no -- and "No" never seemed to be on Ish's mind after I'd asked for a minute of his time.
Ish always gets the quick label for how many teams he played for over his 14-year career (12, to be exact; it was an NBA record until the Hornets' trade for PG Dennis Schrder tied him with Ish Smith at 12 each). Which makes sense; It's a great fact. But I'll quickly brag on the kindness Smith showed me. I'm sure you've all felt it before, but when "good energy" radiates off someone, you can feel it. It's palpable. Ish had that, and I wanted to give him a lot of credit for it.
I don't feel as if some people in my shoes do that often enough. I digress.
Now that I've buried the lede far enough, let's get to it:
Smith stood with me for a few minutes and gave Hornets on SI a few exclusive quotes about Charlotte, but I made sure to ask him first how things are going in Washington with his new scouting gig.
"That's been great (with Washington), man," Smith told Hornets on SI. "Will (Dawkins, Wizards GM) has been the best, man. Travis (Schlenk, Wizards Senior VP, Player Personnel), too; that's been a fun experience. I've learned a lot, and now we are piecing some pieces together to where you can kind of see us continue to improve; getting the number one pick, and we got a lot of young guys. So it'll be fun, man. It'll be fun this year. Like I said, the East is loaded."
This was never going to be a Wizards-based interview, though, and I had to make sure I got in some thoughts and questions on the Hornets; it felt best to start with Charles Lee, who Smith got to play for before he retired a few years ago.
"Charles has been good, man," Smith said when asked what he could say about Lee as a coach and person.
"I've known Charles since competing against him; I was in Detroit, he was in Atlanta, and then (again) in Boston, (too). And then, getting this opportunity (with the Hornets) - he's been great. I was so proud of him and happy for him for last year and how they kind of got in a rhythm (as a team). They kind of started embodying who he is and who he was as a coach, and you can see the chemistry. This will be a fun year; it'll be a fun year all across the East."
The best part of our conversation was learning that Charles Lee wasn't the only Hornet Smith had faced on the hardwood before, and I don't mean just any ol' former Charlotte teammate or assistant coach who simply happened to match up with another Smith NBA team.
Ish told me that during his time at Wake Forest, he competed against Jeff Peterson, who was then a PG for the Iowa Hawkeyes. More on that shortly, because that was a fascinating game to dive into.
Smith's most recently played stint - his second and final with Charlotte in 2023-24 - was right before Peterson took the reins as Hornets' GM and VP of Basketball Operations.
When I asked the initial question, I prefaced it by telling Ish I knew his time with the Hornets was short and that he hadn't worked directly with Jeff, but I still asked if he'd speak to the level of seriousness Peterson and Co. have brought to Charlotte.
"You know what, man, they (Jeff Peterson and Co.) have been great," Smith said. "You want to actually know something funny? I played against Jeff when he was at Iowa, and I was at Wake Forest. So me, Jeff, and that crew competed against each other. So I used to see him all the time when I played, (too), and he worked his way up; he was in Atlanta, and then Brooklyn, and then now (in Charlotte). So well deserved, man. I'm so happy for him and the moves they've made. It's been really good to see."
Naturally, I had to dig into the game logs.
I knew Peterson played at Iowa before FSU, but it would've taken a real college basketball sicko (or someone who played in it!) to remember this one-off 2007 BIG10/ACC matchup. Thankfully, I had both in Ish.
It was a 56-47 home loss for Peterson and Iowa as Ish Smith's Demon Deacons went on the road and grabbed the win -- keep in mind, this WAS your daddy's Wake Forest, and they had just won 27 games two years beforehand in 2004-05 with Chris Paul and Skip Prosser.
But this 2007-08 Deac team, with sophomore Ish Smith, was under first-year Wake coach Dino Gaudio and was finally showing small chinks in their armor. After beating Iowa and Jeff Peterson on Nov. 26th, 2007, Gaudio, Smith, and Wake started 4-0 but finished 13-13 the rest of the way; 17-13 overall.
Ish would mention that he himself didn't play well in that Iowa game (4 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2 TO)... but almost no one did in this matchup -- nobody could hit a shot. That's including Jeff Peterson, who played a staggering 40 minutes as the Hawkeyes' starting PG.
While researching the game this morning, I was surprised to find out that Peterson played the entire game without being subbed out. I was so surprised, in fact, that I followed up with Smith earlier today to see if he could confirm the 40 MP Peterson was credited with.
"I don't remember honestly how much Jeff played or not," Smith said. "I do know that he played a lot (that night) , and if it says he played 40 minutes, then I can tell you he played 40 minutes."
I'm sure Peterson would say the same as I'm about to -- so I don't feel too bad bagging on the current Hornets' head man a little bit -- but had Jeff performed better himself, an Iowa team that lost a lot of close games in 2007-08 could've toppled a Wake squad with three future NBA players in Smith, Jeff Teague, and James Johnson.
Peterson finished the game vs. Wake Forest with 5 PTS (2/9 FG), 3 REB (3 OREB), 7 AST, 1 STL... and 7 turnovers. Turnovers speak for themselves, but what I took away most was that a six-foot PG grabbed three offensive rebounds! Peterson has always been a fan of attacking the glass, it seems.
I couldn't find any game footage, and I certainly tried, but I was able to find a clip of Jeff Teague on the Club 520 Podcast speaking about this exact Iowa game and mentioning Peterson on the other end:
While it wasn't anything revolutionary from Smith, it's always a pleasure getting small and random tidbits like this from players, both current and former. These obscure games are my favorite to dive into because how else would I know Jeff Peterson had 7 turnovers in a random early-season November game in 2007?
You always think you know a guy until you find out he had a 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio in a relatively inconsequential November game during his college basketball days. For shame!
We finished our conversation on a brief, lighter note about Ish's influences - particularly the legendary Demon Deacon PG and former Hornet himself: Muggsy Bogues (what did you expect from @HornetsHistory?).
I told Smith I still think Bogues is one of the most underrated NBA players ever; people still misunderstand how high-level a defender he was at five-foot-three. There was no playing Muggsy off the floor. Muggsy would play YOUR best PG off the floor if their handle wasn't right on any given night.
"I agree; I 100% agree. Like, those dudes, you know me: I'm not the biggest, tallest person. For sure, they were like super inspirational to me, man," Smith said in response. "Muggsy -- him, and TJ Ford. Like, I saw TJ Ford yesterday at the (Hornets/Bucks) game -- they were my inspiration. Like, I thought if I was going to make it to the league and be small, like, I had to play like them. So Muggsy is my guy. I love Muggs; Muggs is the best. You know, a big reason why -- him and Chris Paul -- why I went to Wake Forest. So man, I love those dudes."
It would've been sacrilegious for a former Deac to say otherwise about Muggsy -- let's be honest here -- but you could absolutely tell Ish meant what he said. There was real reverence in his voice for Bogues.
While I already had serious respect for Muggsy in my basketball purist heart, I myself left the Spectrum Center on Sunday night with a newfound professional reverence for Ish Smith, the human, not just the basketball player.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as Exclusive: Ish Smith Talks Playing Jeff Peterson at Wake, Charles Lee Growth, Muggsy Influence .
