UNC Basketball: 5-star prospect talks recruiting, G-League and Tar Heels

5-star UNC basketball target talks about his recruitment, opportunity with the NBA’s developmental league and recent interest from the Tar Heels

North Carolina’s Roy Williams may have the deepest and most talented front court in college basketball, but that hasn’t stopped the Hall-of-Fame head coach from getting out on the recruiting trail in search of the next crop of elite big men.

Williams has already extended a scholarship offer to the nation’s top center, Chet Holmgren, and he’s keeping a close eye on a handful of other bigs in the class. One of those is Jabari Smith, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound power forward out of Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia. Ranked fifth overall in the class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite, Smith is the No. 2 player at his position, and tops in the state of Georgia.

Smith is currently holding a dozen offers, though the Tar Heels have not yet joined that list. Neither has Duke or Kentucky, but Smith has received early interest from both, making his recruitment look like it could come down to another good old-fashioned blue blood battle. For now, he’s working with the likes of Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU and Tennessee, among others. Look for that list to grow exponentially in the coming months, as Smith has already established himself as one of the premier players in the class.

Once a tall, lanky prospect, Smith’s body has continued to fill out over the past couple of years. He now adds formidable height, weigh and length to an already budding post game that includes an effective jump hook. Despite his ability to play on the low blocks, though, Smith is more of a face-up power forward with shooting range out to the three-point line. His athleticism is improving and he’s a decent passer for his position. He’s also a good rebounder, and has the ability to be a game-changer on the defensive end.

In a recent conversation with Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans, Smith touched on a number of topics including the current players in his recruitment, the possibility of skipping college for the G-League and the Tar Heels’ interest in adding him to their 2021 class.

"“They [Tar Heels] have shown some interest but outside of that, no others have really jumped in,” Smith said. . . They have just been telling me how they win down there, and that they get a lot of guys to the league. They just say stuff like that, and the pedigree of the coaching staff and the fans there."

Smith also noted that he’s yet to receive an offer from Williams and the Tar Heels, but sounds like he expects to get one at some point.

"“I am not sure. I am supposed to talk with Coach Williams soon, but he hasn’t given me a call yet, so I haven’t been able to talk to him. Whenever I do, I should know how close I am to getting the offer.”"

Smith talked about the relationships that he’s built with some of the other schools that are recruiting him, and about his thoughts on the NBA G-League. While he has not yet been contacted by a representative of the league, Smith is aware of the opportunities that may arise in the near future. For the time being, he simply stated that if the opportunity comes his way, he’ll just have to see how it goes.

There’s no known timetable for a decision from Smith, but it’s safe to assume that he’ll await offers from each of the blue bloods — something that seems fairly probable at this point — before announcing a list of finalists to move forward with.

Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest on the Jabari Smith recruitment, and everything UNC basketball.