Stanford prioritizing Smith
In some instances, Stanford's Jerod Haase-led coaching staff has continued to recruit prospects that were on the Cardinal's radar dating back to Johnny Dawkins' tenure on The Farm. In other cases, however, Haase and co. have targeted recruits who had minimal or no contact from Stanford prior to the coaching change.
Stevenson High School (Illinois) wing Justin Smith is one of those players. His relationship with Stanford only began relatively recently, but it has developed at a rapid pace.
The Cardinal started pursuing Smith in late April, after the first session of the EYBL circuit.
"It started with Coach Haase and the new staff with Adam Cohen, who has been excellent in keeping up with us," said Edward Smith, Justin's father.
"The situation has progressed very, very well. They're staying in touch. Coach Haase is a great, great individual. I like him as a man - we had an opportunity to sit down and talk with him. I love his enthusiasm. I love the way he takes care of his players. He's a players-type coach, and that's very, very important. He takes care of the players on a personal level. He understands what they're going through, their mentality, the physical ailments through the course of a season. He's been there - he played at Kansas. Actually I had a chance to watch him while he was at Kansas. He's just a good individual.
"Adam Cohen, I haven't met him yet. I've talked to him on the phone several times. They're just very, very good individuals and they're very good people. I like them a lot."
Stanford's coaching staff has expressed that they view Smith as an important piece to their 2017 recruiting puzzle.
"Their recruiting message is that Justin is a priority," Edward Smith said. "They see him as a wing/two-guard. They love his athleticism, they love the fact that he's able to shoot the three. His handles are very good. His athleticism is off the charts. And they're just very intrigued by all of that. He wants us to get out there as quickly as we possibly can to see the campus. We understand that it's a beautiful place. The academics are second to none. So all of those are plusses. Justin is a high-level student. Those are things that are very intriguing for the Stanford staff. They go after highly intelligent, highly skilled basketball players. To get that combination is sometimes difficult, but they found it in Justin."
The Cardinal extended Smith an offer about two weeks ago; it made a strong impression on the Rivals150 standout and his family.
"The interest level (in Stanford) is good," Edward Smith said. "We were very, very excited because No. 1, the academics. That's just incredible. When we got the offer, we thought, 'Oh boy, it's something worth looking into.' He was excited about it, his family was excited about it. From a great academic standpoint - like I said, he's a high-level student and that academic aspect is very very important to him and his family. So those are the things that got us excited."
The next step in Stanford's pursuit of Smith might be a campus visit. The two sides are currently discussing the possibility of making a trip happen, and Smith's family is hoping to take in The Farm at some point in the not-too-distant future.
"We're going to try to work that out and see if we can make that happen in the next couple of months," Edward Smith said. "It's a busy schedule right now for Justin - he has June where he's with his high school team - it's called team camp. Then in July we're back on the AAU circuit with possibly Peach Jam and we have Las Vegas and then we're done. He will start narrowing down his list after the summer is over. We're hoping to get out to California to as soon as we can."