Darius Smith - Juco recruit

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he already signed a letter of intenet..
 


They wanted him before when he was coming out originally, so I guess it's not shocking there would be some interest in him now. It's not like there isn't a need.
 

Nice list of offers. Four star, highly recruited. Sign him up.
 


Sign him up. We definitely need another point guard and he sounds pretty good.
 

There is basically two months to the spring signing period, and we have shown mild interest. If they are mildly interested, that is fine. If he is likely to get an offer I just don't get how this staff procrastinates with recruiting decisions. Maybe it is just me.
 

KyGopherfan said:
Sign him up. We definitely need another point guard and he sounds pretty good.
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Two things I didn't like.

1) His number one weakness (out of high school) was shooting.
2) His number two weakness (out of high school) was passing.

That said, he is a four-star recruit, UCONN obviously knows talent, and we need a PG and he looks like a very good player overall that we could really use. so I say sign him up ASAP and hopefully he has improved on those two areas during his JUCO years.
 

Darius Smith

ESPN
"July, 2008: Unquestionably the best backcourt defender in this event (2008 Super Showcase U17), Smith personifies a true ballhawk. He has unbelievably quick hands and reactions and specializes in stripping opponents on the dribble or with the ball in their hands. He has long arms and is a fierce competitor. Smith has the knowledge and skills to play either backcourt position. He likely will play the point at the collegiate level. His list of schools at this point includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Iowa State, Marquette and Bradley."
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/42832/darius-smith
ESPN 2009-2010 stats
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=45947
June 1, 2010
"Guard Darius Smith informed Calhoun on Tuesday of his desire to transfer. Smith's decision has a lot to do with incoming freshman guard Shabazz Napier being on board. " http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_mens_basketball/2010/06/darius-smith-to-transfer-niels.html
June 10, 2010
"The Hartford Courant is reporting that freshman reserve guard Darius Smith, known around these parts affectionally by his nickname, "No-Nickname," will be seeking a transfer. And just when we were getting close to coming up with a nickname. Ah well."
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2010/6/2/1497126/au-revoir-darius-smith
August 27, 2010
“My goal is to put my name back out there and on the market. Then I want to get into a great school. Also, of course I want to go as far as I can on the JUCO level and win the national championship. I want to meet some new players and just win. I just want to do what I do best again and that is win!”
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/dariussmithcsi.html
 



Jon said:
ESPN
"July, 2008: Unquestionably the best backcourt defender in this event (2008 Super Showcase U17), Smith personifies a true ballhawk. He has unbelievably quick hands and reactions and specializes in stripping opponents on the dribble or with the ball in their hands. He has long arms and is a fierce competitor. Smith has the knowledge and skills to play either backcourt position. He likely will play the point at the collegiate level. His list of schools at this point includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Iowa State, Marquette and Bradley." http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/42832/darius-smith
ESPN 2009-2010 stats
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=45947
June 1, 2010
"Guard Darius Smith informed Calhoun on Tuesday of his desire to transfer. Smith's decision has a lot to do with incoming freshman guard Shabazz Napier being on board. " http://blogs.courant.com/uconn_mens_basketball/2010/06/darius-smith-to-transfer-niels.html
June 10, 2010
"The Hartford Courant is reporting that freshman reserve guard Darius Smith, known around these parts affectionally by his nickname, "No-Nickname," will be seeking a transfer. And just when we were getting close to coming up with a nickname. Ah well."
http://www.theuconnblog.com/2010/6/2/1497126/au-revoir-darius-smith
August 27, 2010
“My goal is to put my name back out there and on the market. Then I want to get into a great school. Also, of course I want to go as far as I can on the JUCO level and win the national championship. I want to meet some new players and just win. I just want to do what I do best again and that is win!”
http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/dariussmithcsi.html
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That is awesome to read. I am a little disapointed he didn't try to battle out at UCONN, but at the same time I am glad because it gives MN a great shot at him. He sounds like the perfect player to replace Al.
 

If he's a great defender, Tubby will offer. Tubby's main point guards have all been great defenders and weak shooters...i.e., Rondo, Cliff Hawkins, etc.
 

KyGopherfan said:
If he's a great defender, Tubby will offer. Tubby's main point guards have all been great defenders and weak shooters...i.e., Rondo, Cliff Hawkins, etc.
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Darius Smith was a superb player at Chicago Marshall HS but I doubt he will be a Gopher. That ship sailed already.
 







GophersOnTheRise said:
I'm not saying they will, but why are you so confident that they won't?
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Waaaay too many high profile teams are looking at this kid. When that happens, more often than not, Minnesota comes up short. Also, it seems too good too be true that the Gophers would even have a chance at him. He would essentially solve all their problems at PG. And as people have said before, Tubby seems to get at these type of guys really late in the process, which is frustrating to fans and counter-active to the program. I would give Tubby's recruiting of offensive players in his tenure a C+ at best. Look at it:

Colton Iverson: A joke on offense
Ralph Sampson III: Soft and inconsistent
Trevor Mbakwe: Defensive force, offense average
Austin Hollins: TBD
Chip Armelin: Intriguing, yes. A shooter, no.
Rodney Williams: Terrible shooter and timid at times. Yes, he has sweet highlights, but his overall offensive game isn't that smooth
Devoe Joseph: Probably the best offensive player he's brought in...and then lost.
Maverick: Division II skills
 

Umm, there is mild interest because he is barely a mid-major caliber player now. He bombed at UCONN, and hasn't done much since besides get in bad car accident and break his shoulder.
 

MaroonGopher said:
Waaaay too many high profile teams are looking at this kid. When that happens, more often than not, Minnesota comes up short. Also, it seems too good too be true that the Gophers would even have a chance at him. He would essentially solve all their problems at PG. And as people have said before, Tubby seems to get at these type of guys really late in the process, which is frustrating to fans and counter-active to the program. I would give Tubby's recruiting of offensive players in his tenure a C+ at best. Look at it:

Colton Iverson: A joke on offense
Ralph Sampson III: Soft and inconsistent
Trevor Mbakwe: Defensive force, offense average
Austin Hollins: TBD
Chip Armelin: Intriguing, yes. A shooter, no.
Rodney Williams: Terrible shooter and timid at times. Yes, he has sweet highlights, but his overall offensive game isn't that smooth
Devoe Joseph: Probably the best offensive player he's brought in...and then lost.
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Darius Smith (per ESPN anyways) seems to be a defensive player. In fact, his offense (well, jump shot) is often listed as a weakness.

ESPN (From Above):
Unquestionably the best backcourt defender in this event (2008 Super Showcase U17), Smith personifies a true ballhawk. He has unbelievably quick hands and reactions and specializes in stripping opponents on the dribble or with the ball in their hands. He has long arms and is a fierce competitor. Smith has the knowledge and skills to play either backcourt position. He likely will play the point at the collegiate level. His list of schools at this point includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Iowa State, Marquette and Bradley."
Click to expand...
 

From the Barn said:
Umm, there is mild interest because he is barely a mid-major caliber player now. He bombed at UCONN, and hasn't done much since besides get in bad car accident and break his shoulder.
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Hahah, I'll show you "mild" interest.
 


MaroonGopher said:
I know.
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So wouldn't the logic from your previous post suggest that Tubby in fact will land him? Smith also expressed regret for not coming to the Gophers in a past interview. Not saying we're going to get him, but the idea doesn't sound too ridiculous to me if Tubby wants him.
 

Ryan made several tweets on JUCO guards, and I got the impression that the staff might like some of them more than Darius Smith.

Sam Grooms PG Chipola- not sure if he's hearing from the Gophers, but Florida, Louisville, and Illinois
Blake Nash PG unnamed JUCO
and finally
Pierre Jackson, who's sharing PG duties with Smith at Southern Idaho and averaging 17 a game.
 


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