NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Top-30 2022 G Nick Smith Jr. releases top 10
By Ian Mumm
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
It can’t be ruled impossible, but landing Smith from the grasp of college basketball powers would be a monumental coup. In what would easily be the biggest signee in the history of Oral Roberts basketball history, it’s highly unlikely we see Smith make a commitment to the Summit League program. His addition would be a huge game-changer for a school making strides under head coach Paul Mills, as the Golden Eagles have been working to get off the lower rungs of the conference hierarchy.
Still, Smith has the potential to immediately become a potential 20-point scoring guard for Oral Roberts like current guards Max Abmas and Kevin Obanor. The Golden Eagles love to let the ball fly from deep and will surely emphasize the ‘green light’ Smith is going to have in every game with the program.
As he’s shown in his development early in his junior season, Smith is more than capable of not only being the primary scoring threat on any roster he joins but also the primary ballhandler and playmaker. Smith has the full package to transform the ORU program from the outset and create his legacy with a school looking to take a big leap in the coming seasons.
Georgetown Hoyas
Recruiting news has been pretty grim for Hoyas fans over the last several months, but commitments from 2021 5-star guard Aminu Mohammed and Ryan Mutombo to end 2020 were definitive momentum builders. Now head coach Patrick Ewing is trying to carry over some of that good fortune to the 2022 class and land another top-flight guard in Smith. While he has not visited the Georgetown campus, there’s been plenty of noteworthy history and proven guards to come through the program to warrant the interest.
Even though Georgetown was unable to hold on to the talented duo of Mac McClung and James Akinjo, they took a leading role with the program much like Jahvon Blair has accomplished this season. The trio is a good example of what Smith can immediately step into if he dons the Hoyas uniform.
There’s considerable opportunity to enter a high-usage situation to kick off his collegiate career and form one of the strongest backcourt duos in college basketball if Mohammed takes the one-and-done path.