Tag: Jabari Smith

LOOK: Auburn signee Jabari Smith receives Mr. Georgia Basketball plaque

Auburn signee and five-star recruit Jabari Smith received his plaque for winning 2021 Mr. Georgia Basketball.

Bruce Pearl has a knack for signing some of the top talent in the state of Georgia. Jabari Smith is the next in-line for Auburn fans to cheer for.

The Tigers signee won the illustrious Mr. Georgia Basketball award for 2021 which goes to the best high school basketball player in the Peach State each season.

On Monday, he received his plaque commemorating the award.

The highest-ranked player to ever sign with Auburn, Smith is the No. 2 power forward and No. 5 overall player in the 2021 signing class.

Early look at 2021-22 Auburn basketball potential starting lineup, key contributors

Auburn has added three quality players including former 5-star recruit Walker Kessler heading into the 2021-22 season.

The Auburn men’s basketball roster will not look as different as it did this past season but there are many changes to Bruce Pearl’s team.

With the departure of Sharife Cooper to the NBA draft, Justin Powell, Jamal Johnson and Javon Franklin to the transfer portal and the possibility of J.T. Thor also going to the NBA, Auburn has hit the portal hard for talented players including Zep Jasper, Wendell Green and Walker Kessler.

All-in-all, the Tigers will be a much improved team after a season in which Auburn had no experience returning.

Here’s a quick look at a potential starting lineup along with key contributors for Pearl.

LOOK: Jabari Smith pumped about playing with Walker Kessler

Incoming five-star power forward Jabari Smith reacted to the news of Auburn landing Walker Kessler with joy on Monday.

Jabari Smith’s arrival on Auburn’s campus was already being hype. Now, with the addition of North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler, the Tigers and Bruce Pearl are going to be even better.

Smith seems especially excited about the arrival of Kessler, posting a response to the news on his Instagram feed.

A five-star recruit out of Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia, Smith is the top-ranked player ever to sign with the Tigers, taking over for Sharife Cooper. Kessler was also a five-star recruit in the 2020 class and the No. 22 overall recruit in the nation.

Notre Dame commit Blake Wesley earns hardware at high school contest

The future of Notre Dame got some exposure during Final Four week.

Both Notre Dame and South Bend were represented in this year’s American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships. Specifically, Riley product and Irish commit Blake Wesley was on hand for the competition ahead of the Final Four in Indianapolis. The contest was held Tuesday, but the broadcast was delayed until Sunday on CBS.

Wesley’s first appearance in the competition came in the IHOP Team Shootout, which teamed him with Auburn commit Jabari Smith and UConn commit Azzi Fudd. His team went first, and it took 48 seconds for the group to complete the sequence, which bore a resemblance to the Shooting Stars competition that once took place at NBA All-Star Weekend. The second team failed to make the final half-court shot in 48 seconds, so Wesley’s team was declared the winner. His prize was a trophy shaped like a stack of pancakes, one of the coolest things you’ll ever see:

Wesley also took part in the dunk contest, but he did not fare nearly as well. Scoring a 22 out of a possible 30 on his first dunk of the first round already put him in a hole. He sealed his fate when he failed to complete his second dunk of the round in the allotted 30 seconds, giving him a 15 on the attempt and a 37 overall. Kansas commit KJ Adams ultimately won the title.

5-star forward Jabari Smith officially signs with Auburn

Five-star power forward Jabari Smith, one of the top five players in the 2021 class, has officially signed with Auburn.

It is never official until it is official. Well, now it is official. (Try saying that five times really fast.)

Five-star power forward Jabari Smith has officially signed with Auburn, becoming the top-ranked player ever to pen with the program.

From Auburn’s press release:

Smith is a consensus five-star forward by 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals. He is rated as the No. 4 player in the country in the 2021 class by Rivals and No. 5 by 247Sports and ESPN. Smith is the highest-rated signee in program history.

Chosen as the No. 1 player from the state of Georgia, Smith averaged 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, including 38 percent from 3, while playing at Sandy Creek High School.

“Competitive programs are built by bringing in really good people that want to work hard together to accomplish something special,” Pearl said. “What gets lost in Jabari being ranked as one of the top-5 players in the country is that he’s one of the top-5 people because of his character and his work ethic. That fits what we’re trying to do at Auburn.

“A skilled big that can play any position on the floor, he is a very difficult matchup. Being an hour and a half from his home, having Chuma Okeke and Isaac Okoro come before him and develop, seeing the environment of Auburn Arena firsthand, these were all factors that led to his commitment.”

Smith was tabbed as a MaxPreps Junior All-American and an all-state selection a year ago while leading the Patriots to a 25-5 record, including 12-0 in the region, and an appearance in the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Following the 2019-20 season, he was named the Junior of the Year in Class 4A.

As a sophomore, Smith averaged 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, two blocks, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 48 percent from the court as he led Sandy Creek to a 27-4 record, including 12-0 in the region.

More recently, Smith was named the Most Valuable Player at the Pangos All-American Festival when he racked up 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in a game that featured many of the top prospects in the nation.

Smith represented his country as he paced USA Basketball to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U16 championship while averaging 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds.

On the AAU circuit, Smith played for the Atlanta Celtics and led them to a championship in the Adidas Gauntlet series.

Smith is the son of Jabari Smith Sr., who played at LSU for two seasons before playing in the NBA in stints with the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings. Smith is also the cousin of 13-year NBA veteran Kwame Brown, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2001.

5-star power forward Jabari Smith commits to Auburn

Auburn has landed the commitment of 5-star power forward Jabari Smith

Bruce Pearl just landed another major talent.

Jabari Smith, a 5-star power forward and top five overall prospect from Tyrone, Ga. announced that he has committed to Auburn on Friday evening. He is the highest-rated commit in program history, taking over that honor from incoming freshman Sharife Cooper.

Standing 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds, here is Smith’s scouting report from 247Sports.

Smith is a face up four who has continuously grown in height over the last couple of years. He now has good size for the position to go with a still extremely physically immature frame with plenty of room to gain strength. While Smith has a jump hook and can post up, he is most comfortable facing up. He has a smooth stroke with range to the perimeter. Improving athletically and as a passer. Rebounds area well and has made progress as rim protector. Projects as first round pick with normal expected development.

Auburn recruiting: Two commits shine on both sides of the ball

Scoring four touchdowns in one game is impressive. But to score them the way Tar’varish Dawson did Thursday night, is remarkable.

Scoring four touchdowns in one game is impressive. But to score them the way Tar’varish Dawson did is remarkable.

The 4-star athlete powered Lehigh Acres to a 35-7 win over Cypress Lake Thursday night. The 5-feet-10, 175-pound Dawson had two receiving touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and two interceptions, with one being a pick six.

He now has 17 carries for 155 yards and two scores on the season to go with 15 receptions for 216 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions while at corner.

He wasn’t the only future Tiger making plays on both sides of the ball either, as Lee Hunter had a monster night of his own.

Hunter, a 4-star defensive tackle and Auburn’s highest ranked commit, totaled 12 tackles, four tackles for loss and two scores.

While both came on the offensive one it was the second that stole the show.

The 6-5, 292-pound Blount caught a 20-yard touchdown reception to seal the 38-20 victory over Robertsdale.

Dematrius Davis may not have may plays on defense but had another impressive game. The 4-star prospect connected on 14 of his 21 attempts for 212 yards and a score as well as 86 yards and three more touchdowns on the ground.

Armoni Goodwin, 4-star running back commit, had another big game for Hewitt-Trussville, rushing for 163 yards and a touchdown as they fell to Hoover 29-28.

Ahmari Harvey, 4-star safety commit, had an interception for Florida State University School.

Other Notes

After planning to announce his college decision this Saturday, 4-star defensive end Jeremiah Williams has decided to push back his decision.

Despite this postponement, Auburn could still get some huge news this weekend, just in basketball.

Jabari Smith, the No. 5 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite and the top power forward, will announce his college decision on Friday at 3:00 pm EST. Auburn is competing with Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, North Carolina and Tennessee for his commitment.

Five-star defensive back Ga’Quincy “Koolaid” McKinstry announced that he will be committing on Oct. 25. Auburn, Alabama and LSU are the final schools.

Auburn is currently the favorite to land all three players in the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Jabari Smith, nation’s No. 5 overall player, to announce commitment Friday

Jabari Smith, the No. 5 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite and No. 1 power forward, will announce his college decision on Friday at 3:00pm EST, according to 247Sports.

Jabari Smith, the No. 5 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite and the top power forward, will announce his college decision on Friday at 3:00 pm EST, according to 247Sports.

Smith will be deciding between Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, North Carolina and Tennessee. The 6-foot-10 and 210-pound power forward spoke with 247Sports about Auburn.

“They play very free, I think they’re a very good defensive team so I think that will bring out the defensive part of my game that people don’t really see. I feel like they always play with long active wings and forwards so I think that will be a good fit for me. They also just talk about how I would fit in their play style.”

Auburn is currently the favorite according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball with the lone prediction favoring them.