Darryl Smith Commits to Cornell

Cornell added a commitment from Darryl Smith (Blue Ridge School) Chesapeake, VA, 6-2, G.  Smith played AAU basketball with the Richmond Squires and East Coast Fusion programs and previously attended Norfolk Collegiate in Norfolk, Virginia prior to transferring to Blue Ridge in Charlottesville.

As a senior at Blue Ridge, Smith posted 14.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.  When seeing him play in December 2012, Big Shots Basketball Recruiting Service described Smith as "explosive."

The Cornell Basketball Blog spoke with one of Smith's coaches, Tony Squire of the Richmond Squire Basketball Club.  Squire specifically noted that Smith fielded offers from Cornell, Yale, Brown and Dartmouth, as well as Vermont, Northeastern and New Orleans while receiving interest from Georgia Tech, Appalachian State and Radford before choosing to enroll at Cornell.  Other schools associated with Smith's recruitment included Penn, Stanford, Virginia, Harvard, and GeorgeWashington.

"He'll be a great, great ambassador for Cornell," noted Squire.  "I've known Darryl since he was 13.  He's a very selfless guy and is 'always about the team.'"

When asked about Smith's style of play and attributes, Squire stressed athleticism and Smith's strength.  (Similarly, another source compared Smith to "Errick Peck in a guard's body.")  Squire explained, "He really loves to set up his teammates, but he can play either point guard or the 2-guard. Cornell's getting two positions out of him."  Offensively, he noted of Smith, "He's a great, great athlete, has a very good handle, quick, can get to the rack.. oh yeah, can finish with a dunk too...can create his own shot."  When asked about his shooting ability, Squire said of Smith, "He's got a pretty good jump shot and nice stroke [but needs more consistency]," and emphasized that Smith's strength is the open court and attacking the rim.  Defensively, Squire said of Smith, "He never takes a play off."  The biggest area of needed improvement was described as "He really needs to become more vocal" and stressed the need for overall "consistency."

(updated 5/21/13)