Ranking the Contenders: Jabari Smith
The No. 4 overall player in the 2021 class, five-star forward Jabari Smith, will announce his college division on Oct. 9. Officially, he’s down to six schools, but only five have any semblance of chance at landing his commitment. Below, Rivals.com ranks the contenders by how likely they are to be Smith’s selection come Friday.
1. AUBURN
Auburn made a late move to become the frontrunner here, as conventional thought used to be that the Tigers trailed Georgia and possibly Tennessee. Those days, however, are now over. Smith’s relationship with head coach Bruce Pearl combined with the fact that Auburn would give him the opportunity to compete for SEC titles while staying relatively close to his Georgia home is appealing to Smith, whose recruitment has long had an SEC feel.
2. GEORGIA
Seen as the leader for a healthy chunk of Smith’s process, it’s hard to dismiss the Bulldogs entirely even though they seem to have faded down the stretch. What exactly happened is unclear, but logic would dictate that UGA’s inability to compete for titles relative to some other schools on this list had an impact when the rubber met the road. Still, Tom Crean’s program remains second-most likely to land the five-star when he announces on Friday.
3. TENNESSEE
There’s really not much to separate Tennessee and Georgia right now. In fact, the order could easily be switched. Both have put themselves in decent positions to land Smith, but neither seems as strong as it did a few weeks ago. The appeal of the Vols isn’t much different than that of Auburn, as it would give Smith the chance to compete for titles while staying in the Southeast. We’ll see what happens, but UT has a bit of work left to do if it hopes to snatch the five-star away from Pearl at the 11th hour.
4. LSU
Family ties are the obvious allure here. Smith’s father played at LSU before going on to have a career in the NBA. That never seemed like much of a factor, however, and the five-star himself downplayed the situation during a Saturday interview. The Tigers are a long shot, but it’s impossible to rule them out completely because of family history.
5. NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels rank last on this list based on the fact that Smith hasn’t visited campus. And while a recent zoom call between the five-star and the UNC staff was said to have gone very well, there’s probably too much even for UNC and its infinite tradition to overcome. That said, North Carolina is still North Carolina, so leaving Roy Williams and company off this list completely didn’t seem particularly smart.