Marcus Smart returned home from the USA Basketball minicamp this week.

Smart didn’t log any minutes in Team USA’s Blue-White scrimmage, but he’s bringing home a newfound confidence in his abilities and intentions to compete at the pro level.

"I don't feel that far removed from them," Smart said of competing against the likes of Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard. "I still have a lot of work, obviously, but it's not a surprise for me now.

"I got a taste of what it feels like to play on the next level with that group of guys, and it's not as big of a surprise for me as I expected it to be."

Smart plans to take it easy for a few weeks before reporting back to campus for what he recently determined will be his final year at OSU.

"I decided to stay one more year at Oklahoma State to get myself ready for the NBA and the next level," he said. "It was kind of coming up here and playing with these guys, just getting a taste of it.

"I felt like one (more) year was good for me to stay. Staying another year (beyond his sophomore season) wouldn't really help me at all. One is fine, but I doubt another year would be as beneficial as the one year I decided to stay."