Dean Juipe: Coach says Smith ready for the pros

Wednesday, May 28, 1997 | 10:48 a.m.

AN NCAA championship doesn't automatically lead to success at the professional level, as any good fan of UNLV sports can tell you.

Remember Warren Schutte?

He won the NCAA golf tournament in 1991, adding his name to a list that includes, among many others, Phil Mickelson, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite.

Schutte -- who's friendly, polite and certainly likable -- turned pro two years later but has struggled since to make a living. He has yet to earn his PGA Tour card.

Fact is, more often than not the NCAA golf champion has failed to achieve lasting success as a professional. Among the multiple examples are such long-forgotten names like E.J. Pfister and Ron Commans.

As Andy Warhol would say, they had their 15 minutes of fame.

So what to make of UNLV's newest hero and national champion, Luke Smith? Even with professional tennis in turmoil and disarray and lacking the significant star power it once offered, can he step in and become a competent pro player?

"If he stays healthy, I'd guarantee it," said UNLV head coach Larry Easley, still bubbling Tuesday after Smith's stunning run to the NCAA individual title over the weekend. Ranked only No. 65, Smith tore through the brackets until he found himself alone at the top.

Now he's preparing for a professional career that will start on June 16 with a satellite event in Lafayette, La.

"What I want to do is continue with my mental game being strong and carry that over into the pros," Smith said. "Other than that, I probably need more consistency."

Consistency has to be a mild concern, what with Smith being unaccustomed to the type of success he enjoyed at the NCAA tournament in Los Angeles. (A related thought: Should Smith have been ranked 65th? Does the NCAA just guess -- as it does in basketball -- when it comes to its tennis rankings and seedings? "No, there's a mathematical formula," Easley replied. "Luke didn't have a good fall season and the computer said there were 64 guys who could beat him.")

From what Easley saw in L.A., Smith is ready for the pros.

"Absolutely," he said. "I don't think there's much of an adjustment from winning the (college) nationals to playing in the typical pro tournament. Those were seasoned players he beat and there was a lot of pressure.

"Now he's shown he can beat anybody in the world."

On careful thought, Easley said one item Smith needs to work on is "his balance on his first volley. He has a tendency to want to rush to the net too fast." It's a minor flaw.

A tweak here, a tweak there and the 20-year-old Smith may have the game it takes to compete as a pro. He's a heavy hitter with an excellent attitude, the type of personable guy who could build a solid following with a few victories at the professional level.

"We'll see," he said of life on the assorted pro tours. "I'm definitely going to start with Lafayette. From there, I don't know where things will lead."