Recruiting Report: AJ Smith (2018)
Standing 6’4”, AJ Smith of Hughes High School is a 2018 prospect with the ability to shoot it from anywhere. Unlike most shooters, Smith doesn’t just want to stand behind the arch and pull — he is mentally triggered on…
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Continue ReadingStanding 6’4”, AJ Smith of Hughes High School is a 2018 prospect with the ability to shoot it from anywhere. Unlike most shooters, Smith doesn’t just want to stand behind the arch and pull — he is mentally triggered on making hustle plays.
“I’ve been hearing from lower D-Is. And I heard from Texas once … Stetson, Lipscomb, Ohio, and many more,” Smith said, when asked which colleges are interested in him.
Smith believes he thrives in an up-tempo “defensive system, where defense leads to offense.”
“I’m just a long, lengthy guard that can shoot the ball. And can get to the basket when I want to,” Smith said. “Yeah, I’m mostly a jump-shooter. But my game varies on how the shot is looking during the game.”
As a sophomore, the wing/guard averaged 10.8 points, on 43.2% shooting and 40.2% from three-point range.
While scoring is the distinct ability, Smith truly does whatever the team needs from him. On an undersized Queen City Prophets squad this summer, he was a primary rebounder and defended in the post.
“My help defense, that’s one thing I got to work on a lot. Because my reaction time is late. So I got to work on that.”
Smith also added that offensive rebounding is a strong-point, and that he can defend every position.
The 16-year-old junior to be is expecting to continue growing in size. Regardless, he already has the necessary grit to bother any opponent. Continuing to polish his game will likely determine which divisional level he ends up at.