NCAA Basketball: 10 teams that should target Chattanooga transfer Malachi Smith

Kentucky Wildcats

It’s natural to link every big recruit in the country to Kentucky, one of the premier programs in the nation. In this case, the fit would actually make sense.

An opportunity recently opened up after forward Keion Brooks, Jr., a full-time starter, entered the transfer portal. The team also lost Dontaie Allen and Bryce Hopkins to the portal and TyTy Washington to the draft, creating a hole Calipari is mostly filling with more hyped recruits.

There is a question as to what Smith’s role would be with the Wildcats after the team secured another big mid-major transfer, guard Antonio Reeves. But there should be little doubt that John Calipari could find a away to get them both involved as Kentucky reloads again.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Smith was born in Evansville, Indiana, but played his high school basketball in Belleville, Illinois. Going to the Illini would therefore be a homecoming of sorts for the guard.

After a number of departures for Brad Underwood’s team, the program found itself in need of more guards. They got a couple of big ones in recruit Skyy Clark and recent transfer commit Terrence Shannon Jr. But there’s a need for more.

There’s still a handful of roster spots available and the only remaining guards are also freshmen. A veteran, local presence could help make sure Illinois doesn’t drop off after its bevy of departures this spring.