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Jeff Borzello
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Paul Biancardi
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Paul Biancardi
Basketball Recruiting
- National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com
- 18 years of coaching experience at Division I level
- Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State
Top-10 junior L.J. Smith committed to Ohio State on Thursday, becoming the highest-ranked 2027 prospect off the board.
Smith is the first five-star junior to make a commitment at this point in the cycle.
“I picked Ohio State because it felt like home to me,” Smith said. “I feel like it’s a place where I can succeed and reach my goals.”
In addition to Ohio State, Smith also took visits to Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina this fall, but his relationship with coach Jake Diebler made the difference for the Buckeyes.
“My connection with Coach Diebler is great; he’s a great guy who believes in me a lot,” Smith said. “I noticed he loves to work with his players and help them reach their goals and succeed. Their plan for me is to come in and play the role of John Mobley Jr.”
A 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Lincolnton, North Carolina, who transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) in August, Smith is ranked No. 10 in the SC Next 60 for the 2027 class. His commitment marks the second consecutive class in which Diebler has landed a five-star recruit, after Ohio State hadn’t landed one since D’Angelo Russell in 2014. Last month, five-star senior Anthony Thompson — ranked No. 13 in the SC Next 100 — picked the Buckeyes over Indiana.
Smith becomes Ohio State’s highest-ranked recruit since Jared Sullinger (No. 2) in 2010.
Playing up an age group with Team Thad on the Nike EYBL circuit, he averaged 13.8 points and 3.6 rebounds last spring and summer, shooting 41.9% from 3-point range.
Smith is one of the better long-range shooters in the class of 2027. He can make shots off the catch and from a rhythm dribble. He displays body balance with vision and positional size, while also demonstrating excellent transition ability with his straight-line driving ability.
What makes Smith particularly hard to defend is he’s equally effective scoring off the ball as he is with the ball in his hands. He moves with purpose off screens with a change of speed and direction, reading his man and squaring up into his shot. When defenders close out hard, he shows instincts to drive it and can finish at the rim against help defense.
