By JAMES MADDEN & SAM LANCE
LJ Smith is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard from Lincolnton High School (NC) that is spending this summer with Thaddeus Young’s Team Thad in the Nike EYBL. Smith is in the class of 2027 and just concluded his sophomore season at Lincolnton.
Heading into the summer, Smith’s offer list sits at 18 schools: Charlotte, Georgia, Hampton, Jacksonville State, Kansas, LSU, McNeese, Memphis, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Radford, Stetson, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wichita State.
Smith is one of the top combo guards in the class of 2027 and describes himself as someone that can create for both himself and his teammates.
This is all very fitting, as Smith mentioned his favorite NBA player is Stephen Curry.
Smith said he has areas in his game to improve upon this summer. He specifically highlighted he’s working on his strength and speed, but also becoming more patient and letting the game come to him.
While Smith has a handful of offers early in the spring following his sophomore season, he provided an update on the schools recruiting him the hardest:
Georgia: “I like their atmosphere a lot and love their coaches.”
Clemson: “I like how hard they play and how hard they coach. I also like how they handle recruitments.”
North Carolina: “I love their coaches and the atmosphere is nice. Their school and Chapel Hill is very nice.”
Duke: “That atmosphere is crazy. I was at the game when they played Auburn. It was a lot of fun.”
Smith said he looks for one common thread among the schools and programs recruiting him.
“I just want to see how well the coaches take care of their players and how they work out,” Smith said.
Smith has visited a handful of schools already and doesn’t have any others planned. He’s more worried about focusing on his summer with Team Thad.
The guard is ranked as the No. 29 player in the class of 2027 per 247Sports.
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