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'22 CA SG RJ Smith (Signed to COLORADO)

WasianCU

WasianCU

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ESPN
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9623172.jpg

Damien HS (La Verne, CA)

AAU: Prodigy Athletic

Twitter: https://NOPE/rj_smith5
Instagram:

Ht: 6'4"
Wt: 180

247s rating: unrated SG
ESPN rating:
Rivals rating:

247sports Composite:

Reported Offers: COLORADO, New Mexico, Portland, San Diego, UC Davis, UC Riverside
 
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Looks like he can score, shoot well and runs the offense. Good length and size. However, Damien is no small school. Why did no other P12 team offer him?
 
Hunchback Quaker said:
Looks like he can score, shoot well and runs the offense. Good length and size. However, Damien is no small school. Why did no other P12 team offer him?
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Have they been playing (Covid)? Last stats in MaxPreps when I checked last night were for the '18-'19 season.
 
He was in the shadow of USC signee Malik Thomas at Damien. RJ was recognized as a talent early in HS, but covid may have contributed to him flying under the radar. Wouldn’t be surprised if he has a big senior year, as focal point on O now.
 
I'm a total Tad homer, but I'm not quite there with you guys. He's been hit or miss with under the radar guys he's gotten enamored with in recruiting. More hits than most programs out there - King, Parquet, etc. - but there have also been some misses that have hurt the program. There are some things that sound encouraging in this case, but I'm going to be "wait and see" on this one.
 
Buffnik said:
I'm a total Tad homer, but I'm not quite there with you guys. He's been hit or miss with under the radar guys he's gotten enamored with in recruiting. More hits than most programs out there - King, Parquet, etc. - but there have also been some misses that have hurt the program. There are some things that sound encouraging in this case, but I'm going to be "wait and see" on this one.
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I don’t see it. Yes, there have been a lot of misses. At most they keep a scholarship for two seasons and then move on. What am I missing?
 
Hallett Hell said:
Exactly. Tad’s earned some credibility. I trust his judgment here over stars and offer lists.
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I concur. Trust in Tad. He finds nice players in Cali. Askia Booker had zero offers from power schools other than CU. Dinwiddie was a little under the radar as well, with his best options as CU and Oregon. UCLA, California, Stanford, and USC never even offered.

Let's see what the kid has. I like his mentality already. Welcome RJ!

https://247sports.com/college/color...h-finds-perfect-fit-with-Buffaloes-171716585/
 
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Buffnik said:
I'm a total Tad homer, but I'm not quite there with you guys. He's been hit or miss with under the radar guys he's gotten enamored with in recruiting. More hits than most programs out there - King, Parquet, etc. - but there have also been some misses that have hurt the program. There are some things that sound encouraging in this case, but I'm going to be "wait and see" on this one.
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I'm right there with you with my admiration for Tad. Love the guy. But this one's hard to swallow no matter how you slice it. Under the radar guys should be walk-ons in this program at this point. The kid is a walk-on at best (Yes, I've watched is film). Why waste a scholly here and now for this?
 
Da Lama said:
I'm right there with you with my admiration for Tad. Love the guy. But this one's hard to swallow no matter how you slice it. Under the radar guys should be walk-ons in this program at this point. The kid is a walk-on at best (Yes, I've watched is film). Why waste a scholly here and now for this?
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That's not how it works. Why would this guy walk on to CU instead of getting a scholarship at UNM or San Diego? In CBB, walkons are generally guys who can’t get Div I scholarships.
 
BuffsNYC said:
That's not how it works. Why would this guy walk on to CU instead of getting a scholarship at UNM or San Diego? In CBB, walkons are generally guys who can’t get Div I scholarships.
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My post isn't about what he should do, it's about who the program is offering full rides to. Of course he took the CU offer, look at his list. Look at his film.
 
Da Lama said:
I'm right there with you with my admiration for Tad. Love the guy. But this one's hard to swallow no matter how you slice it. Under the radar guys should be walk-ons in this program at this point. The kid is a walk-on at best (Yes, I've watched is film). Why waste a scholly here and now for this?
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Exactly my thoughts. Tad has gotten to the point where we shouldn't be accepting commitments from largely unknown prospects unless it's closing in on SPRING signing day.

9 time out of 10, an under the radar prospect is that for good reason.
 
Da Lama said:
My post isn't about what he should do, it's about who the program is offering full rides to. Of course he took the CU offer, look at his list. Look at his film.
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Medford M. said:
Exactly my thoughts. Tad has gotten to the point where we shouldn't be accepting commitments from largely unknown prospects unless it's closing in on SPRING signing day.

9 time out of 10, an under the radar prospect is that for good reason.
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13 scholarships. Decent playing time for, at most, eight players. CU isn't Duke, all 13 scholarships aren't going to be filled by top 100 prospects. Again I ask what's the real downside to taking a few players like this? Tad's history says they will stick around for maybe 2 seasons if they can't play at this level (Kountz, Dombek, Nikolic, Akyazili, Peters, etc.) If he pans out, then you have an Eli or George King on your team as an upperclassman.
 
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Medford M. said:
Exactly my thoughts. Tad has gotten to the point where we shouldn't be accepting commitments from largely unknown prospects unless it's closing in on SPRING signing day.

9 time out of 10, an under the radar prospect is that for good reason.
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The issue with this is a lot of seniors make decisions going into their season. The timing of this was no coincidence either; we didn't land Jasen Green and Chancellor White the week prior to him committing elsewhere, and Chandler Jackson not listing us in his top 10. It felt like we put out a Commitable offer immediately after all of that and he jumped on that. Also, Avery Brown is still very much a possibility. Brown, Hurlburt, and Smith would be the 3rd best recruiting class in Tad's tenure. Also with what happened with Mason Faulkner I'm wondering if Tad doesn't feel it's worth putting trust into the transfer portal. Overall, as nik said wait and see with Smith but I have no issues with how the process played out.
 
This is how Tad operates, we know this. Low profile, high ceiling kids. Sure, do we as fans want 4 and 5 stars, hell yeah, exciting. But Tad is doing his homework and not just bringing anyone on board.

How can anyone even sit here and judge this guy on 30 secs of film from freaking 2 years ago. Very silly.

I hope this thread just adds to RJs fire.
 
BIGEZ321 said:
This is how Tad operates, we know this. Low profile, high ceiling kids. Sure, do we as fans want 4 and 5 stars, hell yeah, exciting. But Tad is doing his homework and not just bringing anyone on board.

How can anyone even sit here and judge this guy on 30 secs of film from freaking 2 years ago. Very silly.

I hope this thread just adds to RJs fire.
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Can't agree more. I didn't know the board were full-time high school scouts...these coaches know what they are looking for. Not just dishing out scholarships like candy.
 
I think these are all valid points.

I keep coming back to it’s a deep class, especially at guard, and guys out west seem to be getting slept on the most. Coupled with COVID year likely to cause some guys to slip through the cracks, I do think they may have found a steal. His skill level (he had been hitting big 3’s since his freshman year) may have more chance to shine this year, and I do LUV RJ’s culture fit for D/ Rbding/ versatility at all 3 perimeter spots to push the pace!
 
Full disclosure - haven't watched one second of his clips. Don't know anything about him that isn't in this thread except for the little nuggets Adam has dropped on @BuffStampede .

That said, I'm not wowed by this pickup, but I'm fine with one of these every other year or so. I love that everyone is giving Tad the benefit of the doubt, but let's not pretend he's perfect here. Over the last five years, some of his "under the radar" recruits have been his worst - Doumbek, Nikolic, Guzo, Akyazili, etc.. Take a flier occasionally, not every year. With all of that, he's a guard in a state that produces talent and there's the COVID thing, so I'm willing to give a long leash on this one.
 
Luke said:
I think these are all valid points.

I keep coming back to it’s a deep class, especially at guard, and guys out west seem to be getting slept on the most. Coupled with COVID year likely to cause some guys to slip through the cracks, I do think they may have found a steal. His skill level (he had been hitting big 3’s since his freshman year) may have more chance to shine this year, and I do LUV RJ’s culture fit for D/ Rbding/ versatility at all 3 perimeter spots to push the pace!
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I’m kind of intrigued in what you have seen in watching clips from RJ’s past. Think you said previously had watched a lot of it, so would be interesting from my very lazy 30 sec a$$ reel I’ve seen. Many thx in advance.
 
Goose said:
Full disclosure - haven't watched one second of his clips. Don't know anything about him that isn't in this thread except for the little nuggets Adam has dropped on @BuffStampede .

That said, I'm not wowed by this pickup, but I'm fine with one of these every other year or so. I love that everyone is giving Tad the benefit of the doubt, but let's not pretend he's perfect here. Over the last five years, some of his "under the radar" recruits have been his worst - Doumbek, Nikolic, Guzo, Akyazili, etc.. Take a flier occasionally, not every year. With all of that, he's a guard in a state that produces talent and there's the COVID thing, so I'm willing to give a long leash on this one.
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I will say the majority of Tad's misses in that list above are international's which is an added layer of uncertainty, level of competition, skill set, language barriers etc. RJ plays in one of the most competitive southern california high school conferences. Like he played against KJ Simpson (who hosted him on his visit). Also, this staff has seen him in person as well. I get your point though for every Eli Parquet there's been a Bryce Peters, Guzo, Dombek. However, this kid does seem high character too which seem to thrive in Tad's development system. XT, Eli, George King, hell even Sabatino Chen and Alex Strating that are high character, lowly rated and find a role as an upper classman. (which is great to have for a program)
 
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