NCAA Basketball: Auburn, Vols, LSU, and UNC in play for 5-star F Jabari Smith

Five-star NCAA Basketball prospect Jabari Smith is set to make a decision soon. Which of the six finalists have the best odds?

One of the more quiet NCAA Basketball recruitments this summer has come from Jabari Smith, a consensus five-star NCAA Basketball prospect out of Tyrone, Georgia. According to 247sportsComposite, the forward is ranked No. 5 overall, and depending on how you view traditional positions, is the top-ranked power forward in the 2021 class, ranked even higher than Mike Foster and Caleb Houstan.

At 6’10 and 210 pounds, Smith is a developing frontcourt prospect who can play both positions inside in college but projects to be a power forward at the NBA. He has a great offensive game, playing more faceup to take opponents off the dribble while being comfortable shooting from mid-range and beyond.

Part of his high ranking reflects on the top-tier ceiling Smith possesses. Assuming that his body continues to grow to 6’10-11 and 220 pounds, he’ll have the frame to use his athletic and fundamental advantages to dominate in college. He’s certainly a “one and done” player barring an unforeseen year of struggles on the court, and some thought he might go straight to the G-League.

Things certainly can change for the class of 2021 forward but college can help solidify Smith as a future 1st-round NBA Draft pick and even higher. He’ll have six programs to choose from, which have been the six that have recruited him the hardest throughout the process.

So which of them has the best odds to land Smith? With some recent recruiting moves for some of these programs, there could be one or two that stands out from the rest. Here’s a closer look at the potential fit, including some pros and cons of him joining.

Auburn Tigers

It’s been a tough past few days for the program on the recruiting trail. Last Saturday, the Tigers were not only a finalist for five-star class of 2021 point guard JD Davison but viewed by some as the favorite at one point. Instead, he picked rival Alabama, which could have huge consequences for Smith’s recruitment.

That’s because Auburn can’t use the selling point of playing both Davison and Smith together. The odds are very high that current five-star freshman point guard Sharife Cooper will be going to the 2021 NBA Draft, so that hypothetical pairing won’t work since a decision is coming before the start of the season.

That doesn’t mean that Coach Bruce Pearl doesn’t have plenty to offer for Smith. Without a star point guard, the team would have to play through its bigs such as Smith and JT Thor. This is a young team with no seniors and outside of sharpshooter Devan Cambridge, there’s no clear guy on the roster that can scorer.

If Smith is most concerned with improving his NBA Draft stock, he can come in and be the go-to scorer on offense and compete with the likes of Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, and other good frontcourts. That’s better than being on a loaded frontcourt and having to split your time on the court.

Yet Smith alone isn’t good enough to take the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. And as we’ve seen before, having a couple of big performances in March can be just as good for one’s stock. With limited roster space, it’ll be hard for the program to add other recruits in the 2021 class to make the best compelling case.

I would say that Auburn goes 0-2 in the five-star sweepstakes this month.

Georgia Bulldogs

If the NBA Draft is a big part of the conversation, the Georgia Bulldogs have the ultimate current trump card in Anthony Edwards. The All-SEC guard and former No. 1 overall recruit was impressive in his lone season, averaging around 20 points and having several quality individual performances.

He’s projected to go no worse than third in the 2020 NBA Draft and could very well end up No. 1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Edwards was the lone bright spot for the Bulldogs as a team, finishing 16-16 overall and just 5-13 in the SEC. Still, the Edwards example and the opportunity of playing close to home should keep this program in the conversation until this weekend.

Another under the radar selling point Georgia is head coach Tom Crean’s ability to develop players into NBA prospects. There may be questions about his ability to win at a high level but he does have former players who are still in the NBA today. That includes Victor Oladipo from the Indiana days.

So far at Georiga, we’ve seen Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton (both forwards) leave early for the NBA Draft after good campaigns in college. There’s a good history for Smith to consider with the Bulldogs, even if the likelihood of winning games isn’t high.

If playing close to home in the state of Georgia and having the ball all to himself on offense, the Bulldogs may have a shot. If there’s anything else that comes into play in Smith’s decision, then the team will have to move on.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Just minutes away from the campus, Smith and Georgia Tech have been linked for a while. And of all the top-tier prospects in the state of Georgia, this one has been the major target for the program. If staying close to home is the most important aspect, look for the Yellow Jackets to be ahead of the Bulldogs in the process.

Unfortunately for the team, they probably would’ve preferred Smith to be in the 2020 recruiting class. That’s because while starting power forward Moses Wright will be leaving after next season, so is All-ACC point guard Jose Alvarado. Making matters more complicated, star junior guard Michael Devoe could leave as well if he has another big year.

Add senior wing Jordan Usher, and that would potentially be the four best players on the roster leaving after next season. That’s not very appealing for Smith to join, even if USC transfer Kyle Sturdivant and three-star 2021 guard commit Miles Kelly proves to be really good.

Still, Smith would be the go-to player on that offense, and playing in the ACC can always be a good selling point. Plenty of quality prospects have opted to stay close to home, and this is the best point Georgia Tech can make to land this one. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to beat the others in this group.

LSU Tigers

There are two important things when talking about LSU and any class of 2021 prospects. On the court, this would be a nice pairing, assuming that sophomore forward Trendon Watford declares and stays in the 2021 NBA Draft. Darius Days can play at the wing and four-star commit Jerrell Colbert would be the starting center most likely.

There is a trio of frontcourt transfers (Shareef O’Neal, Josh LeBlanc, and Bryan Penn-Johnson) that could complicate things for any newcomer big man. For Smith, it wouldn’t stop him from starting but he minutes could dip if any of them break out into being an asset.

If guards Javonte Smart and Cam Thomas comes back for another year and Smith joins, this could potentially be the best team in the SEC for the 2021-22 season. But one of those guards is likely to depart and the Tigers really should focus on landing another guard in the 2021 class if sanctions do happen to the program.

That brings me to the other point off the court. For those who don’t know, head coach Will Wade and the basketball and football programs have been accused by the NCAA of improper recruiting violations. The investigations and trials are likely to go on for months, with any punishment coming next offseason. That would affect the 2021-22 season and any 2021 recruits.

Considering Oklahoma State’s postseason ban and Kansas potentially getting the hammer, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if LSU gets either a ban themselves or a loss of multiple scholarships for the next couple of years. Either scenario would affect Smith and may have him go elsewhere.

The dark cloud over the program makes it hard to envision a “one and done” player choosing them for now. And even though his father went to the school, there are simply better options that don’t have the risk of a ban.

North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels either makes perfect sense or now sense at all, depending on your outlook. Head coach Roy Williams has a great history with developing bigs over the years and clearly, young recruits are aware. No team has more depth in the frontcourt this season that UNC, led by senior Garrison Brooks.

Joining Brooks is junior forward Sterling Manley, along with a trio of former five-star center prospects in Armando Bacot, Walker Kessler, and Day’Ron Sharpe. There’s also Dontrez Styles, a four-star combo forward commit already in the 2021 class. For Smith to have a clear role, two of the former five-star prospects will have to either transfer or go pro in order for this to make real sense.

However, that’s only half of it. Smith isn’t the only star forward the Tar Heels are currently after. They’re a finalist for four-star forward Trey Kaufman, as well as five-star frontcourt players Chet Holmgren, Patrick Baldwin Jr., and potentially Caleb Houstan, who is limiting his options to just four on Wednesday.

If any of those players pick the Tar Heels, then it’s simply too many big bodies on the roster for Smith, regardless of how talented he is. The rest of the options are pretty much wide-open for Smith to come in and be the go-to guy. That wouldn’t be the case for North Carolina, despite all the advantages that they normally provide for players. Unless this is his dream school, I doubt that they’re in the running ultimately.

Tennessee Volunteers

If Georgia Tech doesn’t have great timing in this recruitment, I argue that the Vols have nearly perfect timing. That’s because all three of its top frontcourt players (Yves Pons, John Fulkerson, and EJ Anosike) all are seniors and will be leaving after next season.

It also helps that the program is having its best recruiting run in school history. After landing five-star freshman guards Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer, the Vols recently got five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler this Summer. Top-100 wing Jahmai Mashack also committed to fill out every future need on the perimeter.

But now the frontcourt needs to be addressed as well. The good news is that Tennessee is involved with class of 2022 forwards Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and De’Ante Green, who each could reclassify to join next season’s roster. But only Smith is confirmed to be part of the 2021 class, which is why the program has gone all out to try and land him.

While the Vols don’t have the proximity advantage, they have just about everything else. Not only do they have plenty of playing time inside for Smith but Tennessee also has quality guards to surround him with. And not only can Smith play as much as he wants, but he’d also be playing for a contender. Between Smith, Chandler, and one of the other five-star guards on the current roster, the Vols can remain Final Four contender good.

The other five programs involved have their strengths in the recruitment of Jabari Smith. However, each of them has its flaws as well. Only Tennessee can make the argument that they can offer him whatever he wants on the court, without any clear issues to deal with. Barring his heart being fixed on one of the others, the Vols should be in great shape to land another five-star prospect this weekend.