Smith hoping to make his mark
Each year players use the "live" weekends in April, where college coaches can watch grassroots team play across the country, as launching pads for their recruitment. Three-star big man Mitchell Smith will be looking to do the same over the next few weeks.
A 6-foot-10 center from Van Buren (Ark.) High, Smith has already garnered high-major attention but is looking to take things to the next level. He's hitting Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League with the Arkansas Wings.
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This weekend, Smith will play in front of college coaches at the EYBL's first stop in Hampton, Va.
"It's big time and you have to bring it every game when coaches are there," Smith told Rivals.com. "I'm just trying to bring it, work out hard and show them what I've got."
To go with his 6-foot-10 size, Smith is a long and lean athlete who can really run the floor. He has good touch around the rim and shows a great deal of long-term potential. Though he is still relatively skinny, Smith feels like the strength that he has added has helped him tremendously.
"I can bang more than I could last year," Smith said. "I'm not as scared of other kids as I was last year because I can go head to head with them and finish."
So far, Smith has already scored offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Creighton. He's angling for more and if he keeps coming along like he has in the last six months he's certainly going to score more.
"Six months ago I was just weaker," Smith said. "Now I can incorporate post moves and bang more, and finish more around the basket. I can also go and dunk in traffic now so that's a big plus."