Hoop Brothers: Marcus Smart, Phil Forte Share Bond Beyond Basketball

Marcus Smart’s fate hung in the balance. Roughly 24 hours before North Carolina’s legendary head coach Roy Williams was set to visit the guard’s Texas home on a recruiting visit, the fiery McDonald's All-American took an impromptu trip to Stillwater, Okla.

Rather than sit at his mother’s house, anxiously waiting for Williams's visit, Smart accompanied his best friend and teammate on a recruiting visit to Oklahoma State. It was finally Phil Forte’s moment in the sweltering Southern sun. Travis Ford and the Cowboys vyed for Forte’s services alone, rather than courting him merely to lure Smart in tow. “He and I both thought he deserved more than that, being in my shadow,” Smart said. “He…