Nikki Kahn/THE WASHINGTON POST - Former Duke standout Nolan Smith, middle, with sister Sydney (left) and mother Monica Malone are starting a foundation to help children who have lost a parent.
In many ways, Howard and Webber were children, too, when Derek Smith joined the Bullets’ staff, tasked with getting the young stars to play with the same grit he had.
“He taught me how to be a professional,” Howard said. “He always told me, ‘Hard work and determination equal success.’ I never forgot that, working hard to not let myself down or, more importantly, not let Derek Smith or the memory of him down.”
After returning from trips, Derek Smith would drive the children to school the next morning and frequently stay for class, taking a seat behind a tiny desk just to be with them. And when the family watched TV in the evening, Derek, Nolan and their dog Snickers shared one recliner.
“For someone who was on the road 40-some times a year, I don’t think he missed a beat with both of us,” Sydney recalls.
Naturally, the whole family was aboard the week-long cruise to Bermuda that the Bullets sponsored in 1996 to entertain staff and supporters. During a reception the final night, Aug. 9, Derek Smith halted mid-sentence and collapsed.
Monica was paged over the ship’s intercom. The children came running. And all three were by his side as paramedics worked in vain.
“The world is not as good as it was a week ago,” Charles Barkley said, eulogizing Derek Smith at a Louisville funeral service that drew 3,000 mourners.
Bullets owner Abe Pollin gave Monica season tickets for life and, later, a job in the legal department, urging her to never lose sight of her NBA family. And the Bullets players made a pact to stay close to the children, wherever their careers took them.
“Whenever you lose a family member, loved ones pull together and support each other,” Howard said. “It’s not just by default; that’s what you do.”
The next summer, Nolan attended Duke’s basketball camp and stayed with Uncle Johnny’s family. The same year, at age 9, he told his mother, “I’m the man of the house now.” He shouldered his responsibility quietly, never putting more than two things on his Christmas list, never letting on when he outgrew his sneakers (like Christmas, an annual occurrence.)
As promised, Derek’s friends phoned the children frequently. They told endless stories about their father. With each major event in their lives — high school graduation, college graduation, a big game or even a painful defeat — they told the children how proud their father would be.
Nolan was the first player on the D.C. Assault AAU team who had lost his father. Sadly, others followed. Each time, Nolan knew what to do and what to say, just as Sydney would when some of her friends recently lost a loved one.
Once they paused to reflect, it struck them as fitting to extend a hand beyond their own circle of friends. Their foundation (www. sydneyandnolan.org) is the result.
And Dawkins, now Stanford’s head coach, has no doubt that it would have been a particularly proud week for Derek Smith — not because his son will become an NBA player, but because of the man his son has become.
“That’s what everyone who touched Nolan’s life wants to see: That he continues to be like his dad, which was more than a basketball player,” Dawkins said. “And that has come shining through.”
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