Schools flocking around Ohio sharp shooter

A handful of mid-major schools were recruiting 2008 prospect Ryne Smith before the July recruiting period. But after a major scoring outburst at the adidas It Takes 5IVE Classic, practically every mid-major around the Midwest has offered the 6-foot-3, 170-pound shooting guard from Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer High School, and a handful of high majors are now tracking him.

"A lot has happened since the adidas tournament," said Smith. "I'm getting calls from Big Ten schools and a lot of mid-majors have offered. None of the high majors are discussing offers yet. They said they want to see me play more at the end of July."

Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Notre Dame are the high majors tracking Smith, while he is also considering offers from Akron, Bradley, UMass, Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan.

The high major schools got another look at Smith when he played with Indiana Elite in South Bend, Ind., last weekend, but it is unclear if they will get to see him play next week in Las Vegas. Smith is currently caught in a battle between his regular travel team the Ohio Gators and Indiana Elite. Whether or not he makes it to Las Vegas and whom he will play with if he does make it is up in the air at this point.

Faced with a potential decision between being a role player in the Big Ten or a star at the mid-major level, Smith said stability in the program is of the utmost importance.

"I'm looking for the best situation," he said. "My sister plays at Indiana and she has had three different coaches in the three years she has played there. I'm looking for stability in the program I'm going to play for. If the situation is right, and I'm a role player in the Big Ten then that is good enough for me."

A prospect who could certainly raise his stock by forgoing the early signing period and playing the season as an unsigned senior, Smith isn't interested in taking this route.

"No, I definitely want to get this over before my senior season," smith said.