5-star Jabari Smith to announce Oct. 9; UNC and Georgia Tech in top 6

Jabari Smith, one of the most talented recruits in the class of 2021, will announce his commitment this Friday, Oct. 9. Smith will make his decision at 3:00 p.m. EST.

A 6-foot-10, 210-pound power forward from Georgia, Smith is a consensus top-five prospect in the 2021 class. Both 247 Sports and ESPN rank Smith as the No. 5 overall prospect.

Despite the national appeal, Smith’s recruitment is mostly regionalized. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Smith’s top six includes two ACC programs: North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Several SEC schools are also in contention: Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia and LSU. (Alabama, Florida State and Ole Miss were also in the mix.)

Auburn currently projects as the favorite to land Smith, though.

Smith would check a lot of boxes for the Tar Heels; Roy Williams continues to look for a signature frontcourt 2021 commitment.

Last week, North Carolina landed a commitment from in-state 4-star shooting guard D’Marco Dunn. The Tar Heels now have two 4-star commits for 2021, both from North Carolina: Dunn and forward Dontrez Styles, a Kinston native, who committed to UNC over NC State, Clemson, Maryland and Pittsburgh.

However, North Carolina missed on 5-star 2021 forward Harrison Ingram three weeks back — now headed to Stanford. Back in June, the Heels landed in the top seven for 5-star center Chet Holmgren; since then, though, interest has tapered off. Holmgren is now down to just Gonzaga and Minnesota.

Georgia Tech, on the other hand, has just one 2021 commitment: 4-star combo guard Miles Kelly,

 

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