Smith-Rivera taking it slowly
Back in October, D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera thought that he had the recruiting process figured out when he committed to Xavier. But, time went on and he realized that maybe he had rushed things so he's back on the market and looking around.
According to the 6-foot-3 comnbo guard at Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central he's still interested in Chris Mack's program, but he felt that he'd rushed things a bit.
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"I think me and my family took some time and wanted to consider what's really out there," Smith-Rivera told Rivals.com. "It was my idea."
Not surprisingly, the four-star prospect who currently ranks No. 25 in the class of 2012 has been hearing from several schools since opening things back up.
"A lot of schools that weren't in contact before I committed have been in contact recently," said Smith-Rivera. "UCLA, Florida just offered me a scholarship and Miami has been in contact. Those are the new schools. Ohio State, Georgetown, Xavier, Cincinnati and Louisville were all there."
Because he's already committed and backed off once, Smith-Rivera says that he's going to be extra careful to make sure he picks the right program.
"I'm going to get a better feel for all of the schools that I want to see and who I'm interested in," said the combo guard of his new approach. "I want to see if I can build relationships more."
On the floor, Smith-Rivera is having a strong junior season coming off of an injury that ended his summer a bit early. He's physically ready for the college game, can shoot from deep and is continuously adding to his floor game making him more versatile.
"Most schools recruit me as a point guard," said Smith-Rivera. "But at the same time they want me to bring that shooting guard type of mentality to the team to even out each position."
This summer, Smith-Rivera will run with a different club program as he's made a switch from Indiana Elite to Spiece. As for his recruiting, there's no timetable and he'll take as much time as needed this time around.
"As of right now there's no time frame," finished Smith-Rivera. "We're just kind of going through the process right now and just receiving those scholarships. We are just trying to understand the process and see how it goes."