Recruiting Report: Tyreke Smith (2018)
As early as a month ago, Tyreke Smith (2018), a 6’4” wing from Cleveland Heights, was exclusively considered a basketball prospect with an eye-popping 4.1 GPA. However, in the past two weeks, Smith has burst on the scene as a…
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Continue ReadingAs early as a month ago, Tyreke Smith (2018), a 6’4” wing from Cleveland Heights, was exclusively considered a basketball prospect with an eye-popping 4.1 GPA.
However, in the past two weeks, Smith has burst on the scene as a two-sport phenom — gathering full-ride football scholarships from Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Ohio, Toledo, Kent State, Bowling Green, Akron, and Youngstown State.
By the way, he hasn’t played football since the seventh grade.
The immensity of his college recruitment, regardless of which sport, has become staggering.
By the way, he also has gathered a basketball offer from Air Force, along with interest from the Akron and Kent State basketball coaches, IUPUI, and UNC Asheville.
But Smith, who plays for OBC in the summer, has an unusually open-minded perspective to match these unusual times.
“I still have two years of AAU and two years of football recruitment, so I’ll make that decision down the line,” Smith said.
“Officially, this is my first year playing high school football in Cleveland. I’ve been playing basketball all my life. I’ve been playing football, but I stopped playing when I moved from California to Cleveland. Stopped playing seventh grade year … So, I don’t really know yet. I haven’t played a high school game … I just wanted to open my options up.”
Smith mentioned that the player-coach relationship will be an important factor on his college decision.
What about basketball?
While it’s becoming apparent that football is where most of his full-ride scholarships will come from, the California native is an absolute force on the hardwood.
He uses speed to beat defenders to the rim, even though they are often much closer to the cup when he first catches a pass. Furthermore, even if they do arrive at the rim before him, Smith has his mind made up that he’s going to finish over or through you. That persistent mindset when driving to the rack is only helped by his premier athleticism.
By the way, his jumper is anything but broken. It’s not wise to dare Smith to beat you from behind the arch.
“I can drive. I can hit the jump-shot. I can guard multiple positions. Strong enough to guard the four or five, also quick enough to guard the twos, the ones, the threes,” Smith said.
Count them, that just about covers it. And he’s not lying. There’s a reason that the football recruitment world has been drooling over his abilities over the past few weeks, it’s on full display when he’s playing (basketball) defense.
Smith also mentioned that he’s focusing to improve his “counter-moves” on offense, and adding even more consistency to the three-point shot.
Tyreke’s brother, Malik Smith, currently plays basketball for UNC Asheville. Tyreke showed appreciation to the older brother and his family at large, for keeping his head straight (whether that it’s his achievements in the classroom or handling the pressures of being a talented prospect) and guiding him through the publicity.
Considering his outstanding talent (both mentally and physically) and his surrounding cast, whichever college he decides upon will be beyond satisfied. The limits are boundless for Smith.