Off and runnin': Family ties bind Smiths to UNLV basketball

      Damian Smith played for five coaches in five seasons at UNLV, beginning with Rollie Massimino and ending with Bill Bayno.
      The Chaparral High School graduate could have transferred to a more stable program at any moment and no one would have blamed him. But Smith stayed home because of strong ties to the UNLV program.
      Family ties.
      "Going through all the coaching changes and all the controversies, I always had a lot of people backing me," said Smith, a shooting guard who finished his senior season at UNLV earlier this month with the Rebels' 86-73 loss at Arkansas in the National Invitation Tournament. "People brought me through the bad times. If it were any other school, I would've transferred."
      But Smith always longed to play at UNLV, at the Thomas & Mack Center, wearing No. 22.
      That was his father's number.
      Tony Smith was a hot-shooting guard for the Rebels from 1976 to 1979 and was a member of the first UNLV team to reach the Final Four in 1976-77. He ranks No. 17 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,204 points and No. 8 in career free-throw percentage at 79 percent.
      Damian Smith was 3 years old when his father played in the Final Four. He grew up imagining playing in the Rebels' scarlet and gray.
      "They set the tone, the run-and-gun style, and I liked that," Damian Smith said. "I wore the number for him. He helped me through my whole basketball career and the least I could do was wear it for him."
      Tony Smith said he watched his son's career unfold with pride.
      "It was a great feeling watching No. 22 run around the court with the name Smith on the back," Tony Smith said. "I got to go to Senior Night and walk the carpet with him, and that was special, but the greatest feeling was being able to watch him graduate with a hotel management degree in four years."
      Damian Smith averaged 29 points his senior season at Chaparral and led the state in scoring in his final two high school seasons. Upon graduating, he was heavily recruited by UNR, where he likely would have been a featured performer.
      But Smith said the decision to attend UNLV was not difficult.
      "I thought for basketball, this is where I wanted to be, and I wanted a chance to start a good career once it was all over," Smith said. "The ending made it worthwhile. Going to the NIT was a lot of fun."
      Tony Smith said he persuaded his son to attend UNLV.
      "He understands life right now," said Tony Smith, who works at the front desk at the Sahara. "He always had to prove himself, and that helped him. He understands life right now."
      Damian Smith said that he, like his father, plans on staying in the area and building a life after basketball.
      "I'm not sure exactly what I'll do next," Damian Smith said. "I might see if I can play professionally in Europe, or I might come back and start my master's degree. I know it's not always going to be fun and games and you have to live a real life, and I'm ready for that."
      Tony Smith likes hearing that.
      "I guess I'm as proud as any father can be," he said. "I've been that way from Day One, when he was a baby. Damian's a very nice kid and I'm glad he got to follow in my footsteps."