Smith hearing most from Pac-10 school
Recruiting is starting to take shape for Jordan Smith and although Oregon State hasn't offered him, the Long Lake (Minn.) Orono shooting guard said he'd like to make a trip to Corvallis at some point this off-season to check out the campus.
"I've talked to coach (Nate) Pomeday out there quite a few times and they stress all the time that they really need a shooter and that's what I am," Smith said. "They've expressed the most interest of anyone so far.
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"I'd like to get out there sometime this summer whether they have an offer out on the table or not. I'd like to go see the campus and everything. I've heard it's really nice at Oregon State."
The Beavers, Rice, Columbia, Stanford and Northwestern are showing the most interest in Smith, a 6-foot-3 recruit who averaged about 23 points, five rebounds and four assists per game in his junior season.
He helped Orono reach the state tournament for the first time in school history. It was a big stepping stone for the program and a big day for Smith, too, because a coach from Columbia was at the game. That a coach traveled all the way from New York City to Minnesota to watch Smith play speaks volumes.
"That was really good," Smith said. "I didn't even really know they were there until somebody told me. It was cool that they're interested."
Rice has also stepped up its interest recently and Smith said a coach was supposed to come up and watch him play if Orono made it deeper into the state tournament. Unfortunately, that didn't happen but Rice is expected to visit in the next couple weeks to watch Smith work out.
"I didn't really know a whole lot about them but the coach has talked to me a lot about them and he planned to come up and watch us if we made it deeper into the tournament," Smith said. "He said he's going to be up in the next month or so to watch me work out."
Smith worked out at Northwestern last summer so he's familiar with that campus and that program is showing a lot of interest. Stanford has also been in closer touch recently and Minnesota has reached out more often as well.
The Orono shooting guard will again play with 43 Hoops this AAU season in hopes of getting noticed - maybe getting a few offers - and preparing for his senior year. Getting to the state playoffs was a big deal and Smith wants to improve on that next season.
"That's a really big honor for that to happen," Smith said. "There have been a lot of really good players that have come through Orono and to be a big part of the team, the first team ever to go to state, was important."