RALEIGH, N.C. -- Boston College coach Al Skinner does this every season, so shame on every one of us ... that includes the recruiting gurus, the sports writers and, yes, you -- for being so surprised by 6-foot-8 forward Craig Smith.

Who knew Troy Bell was going to be so good? Not the University of Minnesota, which let the Minneapolis native sign with Skinner's Eagles, where Bell is on pace to finish this season as Boston College's all-time scoring leader.

	Craig Smith simply didn't show any signs of developing into the dominating force he's been this season at Boston College.

Who knew Ryan Sidney could do so much? Not the University of Michigan, which let the Ann Arbor native sign with Skinner's Eagles, where Sidney has become the busiest guard in the country (15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals per game).

Now, Craig Smith.

While Bell and Sidney eluded the notice of one hometown school each, Smith skated under the radar of UCLA and Southern Cal at Fairfax High in Los Angeles -- and then spent a post-graduate season on the opposite corner of the United States, eluding everyone else. At Worcester (Mass.) Academy, one of a handful of prep schools known by college coaches as a factory that produces Division I players, Smith toiled rather anonymously.

For Skinner, who has made a career out of recognized the magnificent in the mundane, this was too easy. Craig Smith, in his own back yard? Skinner gobbled him up and laughed all the way to the 2002-03 season.

"We felt he'd be good," Skinner says, trying his hardest not to smirk.

On that count, Skinner the soothsayer was wrong. Smith hasn't been good.

He has been great.

If it weren't for NBA-star-in-waiting Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse, Smith not only would be the clear favorite for Big East Rookie of the Year -- he would be the national favorite, too.

Check out the numbers. Smith is averaging 21 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, by all accounts an amazing freshman season ... even if it has come in the shadow of Anthony, who is producing at a 22.8-point, 9.2-rebound clip for the Orangemen.

Unlike Anthony, who wowed fans at the McDonald's All-American game and made Syracuse fans sweat out his NBA plans before deciding to enroll for his freshman season at Syracuse, Smith slipped into town with the anonymity a fellow named "Craig Smith" might expect.

Recruiting gurus didn't see Smith being this good, this fast. Or even this good. He was routinely left out of those Top 100 lists compiled by the experts -- and believe it, they are very good at what they do -- and slipped to No. 444 (no misprint) on noted recruiting writer Clark Francis' rankings for The HoopScoop.

Not to single out Francis. Everyone missed on Smith when he was at Fairfax High, and later Worcester.

"You've got to understand this," says recruiting guru Dave Telep of TheInsidersHoops.com. "Craig Smith was a non-factor in high school. I remember watching him play and thinking, 'No big deal.'"

Thanks for your honesty, Mr. Telep, and in fairness to you and to Francis and all the rest of the recruiting experts, Smith wasn't that big of a deal for most of his prep career. He was big, period.

"I was at least 20 pounds overweight," Smith says. "I was slow, out of shape. I don't blame people for not thinking I was that good -- I guess I wasn't."

Skinner saw the gem hidden by all that baby fat, and now Smith is a solid 6-8, 265 pounds who looks a lot like Elton Brand when he was a freshman at Duke. Only, Brand never put up these kinds of numbers in college.

Never.

Telep got his first in-person look at the collegiate Smith last week at Raleigh, where Boston College defeated N.C. State 93-81. Before the game, in which Smith would punch in with a routine (for him) 20 points and seven rebounds, Telep caught sight of Smith in the layup line and was stunned.

"That's not the Craig Smith I saw in high school," Telep was saying.

He's not the Craig Smith anyone saw in high school.

Anyone but Al Skinner.

	Games of the Week
	Saint Joseph's vs. Penn Saturday The Palestra will be rocking. North Carolina at N.C. State Sunday Always a big game. It's bigger for Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek, who has disgruntled fans nipping at his heels. Connecticut at St. John's Monday The Garden crowd gets another look at future NBA center Emeka Okafor and the unpredictable Huskies.

ACC Guessing Game
If by now you're not expecting the unexpected in the ACC, you're not paying attention.

Last week was strange, and this week could be stranger. To understand what could happen, let's review what did happen.