Tennessee continues to try and add quality pieces to their basketball roster for the upcoming 2018-19 season. With the transfer of Chris Darrington, the Vols now have two scholarships they can give out during the 2018 recruiting cycle. And they’re targeting several players with those scholarships.
One of the Vols’ newest interests in the 2018 class is combo guard Serrel Smith. According to Bob Putnam, who covers high school sports in Pinellas County, Florida, Tennessee sent an assistant coach to watch Smith work out recently.
Head coaches and/or assistants from Georgia, Miami and Tennessee here at St. Petersburg to watch Serrel Smith workout. @GetBucketsBoyyy @SPHBasketball pic.twitter.com/sU3C3FBXot
— Bob Putnam (@BobbyHomeTeam) April 5, 2018
Smith was once committed to Ole Miss and signed with them during the early signing period. But once his high school season ended and the Rebels’ season came to a close, he asked for a release from his commitment to them. Smith cited head coach Andy Kennedy’s resignation as the main reason for his decision.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Smith is a three-star and is the No. 178 overall player and is the No. 13 combo guard in the 2018 class. The 6-foot-3 guard holds offers from Memphis, Dayton, Florida Gulf Coast, and others.
“I’m looking for a program who is granting me the same opportunity (Kennedy) was, and that’s to play through my mistakes and learn and grow off them. And letting guards have their free will,” Smith told the Tampa Bay Times about his decision to move on from Ole Miss.
Smith’s film shows off a dynamic scorer who has impressive ball handling skills as well. He can create his own shot with ease, and he has a multitude of offensive moves he can go to in a number of situations. He’s no slouch on defense either.
According to D1Circuit.com, Smith averaged 12 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 16.8 minutes per contest during Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League last summer. He also averaged nearly 30 points per game for St. Petersburg High School during his senior season and put up 30-point contests on multiple occasions.
The Vols haven’t offered Smith yet, but they are expressing interest in him along with several other schools now that he’s out of his Letter of Intent with Ole Miss.
Tennessee’s No. 1 target in their 2018 class is four-star point guard James Akinjo. They’re set to host Akinjo on an official visit this upcoming weekend. The Vols are also reportedly interested in former MTSU power forward commit Carlos Curry.
One Response
Hes obviously good but hes also raw and cocky.