Ramar Smith

04/10/06: Smith has verballed to Tennessee.

03/28/06: "I don't know when I will decide," he said. "I'm still considering all my options." - ScoutHoops.com

03/28/06: "Ramar Smith was committed to UConn. Went out to South Kent Prep, got homesick, missed some early classes and went back to Detroit. At that point, he and UConn parted ways. He's got some work to do in the classroom but could make it. He's a shooting guard who can get to the rim." - www.ScoutHoops.com

10/27/05: According to sources close to the Connecticut basketball program, Ramar Smith is no longer a member of Jim Calhoun's recruiting class." - ScoutHoops.com

08/06/05: Verballed to UConn.

08/04/05: Listed as the 30th best player in his class. - www.RivalsHoops.com

08/02/05: Listed as the 28th best player in his class. - HoopScoop

07/16/05: Named 11th team All American, regardless of class. - HoopScoop

07/10/05: "Listed as the best SG at the Nike Camp. - www.HoopMasters.com

07/10/05: Named 9th best overall player at the Nike Camp, second best SG. - HoopScoop

07/08/05: "UConn, Michigan State, Miami, Arkansas and others have kept a close eye on Mr. Smith." - www.PrepSpotlight.com

07/07/05: "Don't say I can't run the point" - Ramar Smith, thru www.ScoutHoops.com

07/07/05: "UConn, Michigan State, Miami-FL, Arkansas, were already all in the hunt but now Florida, Tennessee, and Illinois appear to be stepping it up on Mr. Smith." - www.PrepSpotlight.com

07/06/05: "I'm not going back to my regular high school," Smith said. "I'm going to American Christian in Philly. I'm looking forward to that and getting to play with (top sophomore point guard) Tyreke Evans. In his first interview session at the Nike Camp, Smith listed six top schools -- Arkansas, Illinois, UConn, Arizona, Tennessee and Miami (Fla.). He has made no official visits yet." - www.ScoutHoops.com (4 to 2)

06/28/05: Named the best player in Michigan. - www.PrepSpotlight.com

06/26/05: Named 34th best overall player at the NBA Players Assoc Top 100 Camp and the 5th best SG. - HoopScoop

06/26/05: Listed as the 4th best PG at the NBA Players Top 100 Camp. - www.PrepSpotlight.com

06/23/05: Smith did not mention Cincinnati in his short list of three schools to PrepSpotlight.com

06/23/05: " - he's a versatile scorer who becomes better and better as he lets the game come to him." - HoopMasters.com

06/23/05: "Smith said that in addition to the Huskies and the Spartans, Miami, Tennessee, Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin were chasing him." - www.ScoutHoops.com

06/20/05: Listed as the 25th best player in his class on the RSCI list (consensus of five recruiting services)

06/13/05: "tremedous slasher and finisher at the basket. not a great handler but powerful with the ball and can generally get where he wants to get on the court. Left hand is getting better, but he is wicked going right. Shot is inconsistent, getting better will get better, but don't see him ever being a "very good" shooter. Capable of locking a guy up. Very athletic." - www.RivalsHoops.com mssg baord - Jerry Meyer

06/08/05: Listed as the 19th best player in his class. - www.RivalsHoops.com

06/06/05: Listed as the 20th best player in his class. - www.PrepSpotlight.com

06/01/05: "Smith said MSU and Cincinnati are the schools that trail the Huskies." - SpartanMag.com

05/30/05: "Ramar Smith has whittled his list down to Michigan, Michigan State, UConn and Cincinnati." - www.RivalsHoops.com

05/29/05: "A powerful slasher who gets to the rim at will, he plays much bigger than his size thanks to his strength and abundant hops. Smith plays more deliberately and he is definitely the "go to" guy that his team looks to for buckets." - PrepStars.com

05/29/05: "His outside is solid but there is no secret that he prefers to put the ball on the floor and use his strength, speed and savvy to get the easy basket." www.RivalsHoops.com

05/12/05: Listed as the 25th best player in the country, in his class. - ScoutHoops.com

05/10/05: "Those two weekends proved to be warm-ups for Smith's explosion at the inaugural Next Level Ballers tournament in Dallas. Smith erupted for 40, 34 and 25 points during the weekend. "Yeah, I just wanted to play well," Smith said. "I think I'm one of the best players in the country. I had to go out and prove it." - www.PrepSpotlight.com

05/04/05: "Smith was excellent all weekend. Many questioned if he had maxed out or peaked. If he has, his peak is higher than most anybody else's. Smith showed toughness and grit, but still has excellent athleticism making him tough to handle. He also showed he can play the point if needed and was a surprisingly good passer." - www.PrepSpotlight.com

04/30/05: I watched the Family AAU team, featuring Ramar Smith on Saturday at the Spiece tournament. Here are my notes -
Seemed to fumble the ball in his hand on the three attempt but still dropped it in. Can drive the lane, hit the trey and has the ability to hit the 'on' switch and take over a game. Seems to have stole Melvin Levett's legs. Good defender. Quick feet. Good first step. Passes after penetration well. Good crossover. Gets 'mad' in a good way.

In one quarter I saw: Acrobatic drive into the lane/layup. Acrobatic drive/layup. Quick first step drive right/layup. Quick first step drive left/layup. Trey from two feet behind the line. Dribble once left/pullup trey. A 'holy crap' rebound tipdunk that he cuffed and threw down very hard, at the buzzer. Crowd freeked. Small children ran for cover. Had 16 pts in the 8 min quarter. - Mike Ryan


04/30/05: "Ramar Smith says UConn, Michigan State, Cincinnati and Arkansas are on him strong." - ScoutHoops.com (3 to 4)

04/25/05: "UConn, Miami-FL & Georgetown all fell in love with Smith this weekend and will be in this week to see him at school this week as will Cincinnati. Arkansas, Indiana, Providence, Alabama, Michigan State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Arizona, Iowa, Illinois, and Purdue are all now recruiting Smith." - www.PrepSpotlight.com

04/25/05: "We may have to dub him "Mr. Inconsistency" because one day he's among the best in the country and the next he really struggled. When he's on – as he was at times on Sunday – he's nearly impossible to stop. Put up 40 against Metro Hawks and 30 against Athletes First." - www.ScoutHoops.com

04/19/05: "Cincinnati and Arkansas are strong. The word that I am getting is that Mich. and Mich. St. are not recruiting him that hard." - RivalsHoops.com

04/17/05: "Smith was at his best during the Family's 4 game run to the championship erupting for 28 points against the Worldwide Renegades, and 22 against Team Breakdown. Smith had college coaches lining up to see if he would be interested. He put his name back up among the top guards in the country with his performance this weekend. Arkansas, Cincinnati, UConn, Indiana, Michigan State, Miami-FL, Arizona, Rutgers, and Memphis are all now very interested in "Mr. Smith." - PrepSpotlight.com (1 to 3)

04/17/05: "The Detroit crew was uncharacteristically without much punch to their game in a loss to Memphis. But, Smith had his offense, in particular his stroke, going early. In fact, he was The Family's best offensive player in both halves but it wasn't enough and when frustration set in, he got the double tech and had to watch the last few minutes from the bench." - AUTigers.com

04/15/05: "I guess right now he’s got a few schools that have shown interest," said Detroit King head coach Benny White. "Michigan State, UConn, Arizona, Illinois, Arkansas, Miami (FL), Cincinnati and a handful of others." - PrepSpotlight.com

04/11/05: "He was on cruise control early, but just took over in the big games. His 22 point performance against Boo Williams made scouts believe again." - PrepSpotlight.com

04/06/05: Listed as the 26th best player in his class. - ScoutHoops.com

04/05/05: Listed as the 24th best player in his class. - PrepSpotlight.com

03/07/05: "My top three schools are UConn, Arkansas and Michigan State," said Smith. "All three have offered, and I don't have a leader right now. I want to wait until I take some visits and learn more about these schools." - RivalsHoops.com (4 to 1)

03/02/05: "The state's elite players are usually at their best in the state tournament, and Detroit King's Ramar Smith took center stage Tuesday. Smith's 23 points led fifth-ranked King to a 52-47 victory over Detroit Murray-Wright in a Class A district at Detroit Kettering. (snip) With his teammates struggling offensively, Smith, a 6-foot-3 junior ranked No. 2 in the preseason Top 25, drove to the basket repeatedly as he tried to muscle past Murray-Wright's man-to-man defense. Smith went to the free-throw line 14 times and made 10, including 6-of-8 in the fourth quarter. His two free throws with 5:22 left gave King a 41-39 lead it never lost." - Detroit News

02/16/05: Listed as the second best player in Detroit's PSL. - PrepSpotlight

02/14/05: Listed by PrepSpotlight as he best junior guard in the Midwest over Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook, IL), Leon Freeman (Belleville, MI), Marcus Johnson (Ft Wayne, IN) and Ryan Sims (Ft Wayne, IN).

02/11/05: Scored 20 pts in a loss to Detroit Redford. The loss was part of the Public School League semifinal Friday night at Cobo Arena.

02/08/05: "King is led by junior Ramar Smith, who was rated the No. 2 player in the state in The News' preseason rankings. "No doubt, everything goes through Ramar," White said. "When you think of the best players, things typically go through them." - Detroit News

02/07/05: "Previously, Smith had been listing Cincinnati as his leader, but that has since changed in recent months. "I'm still interested in them," Smith said of the Bearcats. "I'm looking at Illinois, U-Conn, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Georgetown, and Arizona, and a few others I guess." - BuckNuts.com (5 to 4)

02/02/05: Smith had 11 points, 11 assists in a win over Southwestern.

01/29/05: Junior guard Ramar Smith had 25 points for King (11-2, 10-1) in a loss to Detroit Central. - Detroit Free Press

01/26/05: "Smith, a 6-3 junior and the state's No. 2-rated player, played poorly in the first half (1-for-7 from the field, three turnovers) to score 18 of his 20 points in the second half to lead King. (snip) He made three three-pointers and a free throw in the final 4:23 of the quarter. . . . " - Detroit Free Press

01/25/05: "Don't look for U-M or MSU to sign junior Ramar Smith of Detroit King, ranked No. 2 in the preseason top 25. Before the start of this season, Smith listed Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown and North Carolina as his favorites, and shook his head when asked about U-M or MSU." - Detroit News

01/22/05: "Junior guard Ramar Smith had 26 points for King (11-1, 9-0 Southeast)". Snip - Detroit Free Press

01/15/05: Smith had 26 pts, 10 rebounds for King in a win over Detroit Murray-Wright.

01/08/05: Ramar Smith had 23 points and 10 assists in a win over Detroit Southwestern.

12/31/04: Named tenth team All American regardless of class by HoopScoop

12/29/04: "Ramar Smith will probably be looking to forget Tuesday's performance as quickly as possible. The 6-2 WG from Detroit (MI) King who now sports a Rashaad Carruth-esque hairdo is among the most explosive athletes in the Class of 2006 but can struggle with his jump shooting and shot selection at times. . . .Smith had a rough 12 point game where he made only 6-20 FG's and missed all nine threes that he took. He did have four assists, but they were cancelled out by five turnovers." - PrepStars.com

12/15/04: "Junior guard Ramar Smith scored 28 for King (3-0)." - Detroit Free Press

11/30/04: "Ramar Smith, a 6-2, 190-pound junior guard at King High (Mich.), told Scout.com that Cincinnati is his current leader.
"He (Bob Huggins) likes to get up and down the floor," Smith said." - ScoutHoops.com (4 to 5)

11/04/04: Listed as the 23rd best player in his class. - InsidersHoops.com

11/01/04: Listed as the second best SG in Michigan, regardless of class. - PrepSpotlight.com

10/28/04: "As for his college choice Smith says that things are progressing and he is primarily hearing from eight schools right now. “It’s doing alright. Doing pretty good,” Smith said of his recruitment. “Connecticut, Cincinnati, Arkansas, Michigan State, Illinois, Memphis, Syracuse, and Ohio State. I don’t have a favorite right now.” But there has been more interest shown lately from the Michigan coaches lately and they could end up making a strong push for Smith’s services. As of right now Smith is in no hurry to decide as he will look at his options more closely next summer." - PrepSpotlight.com

10/28/04: "I like Cincinnati, Georgetown, Michigan State and Arkansas," said Smith, the No. 24 ranked player in the class of 2006. "Michigan State and Arkansas have offered, but right now, Cincinnati is my leader." - RivalsHoops.com (2 to 4)

10/01/04: Listed as the 14th best player in his class (Oden, #1; Daequan #5) - PrepStars.com

08/25/04: Listed as the 16th best player in his class. - PrepSpotlight

08/18/04: Listed as the 5th best player in his class. - Recruiting Nation

08/11/04: Listed as the 24th best player in his class. - RivalsHoops.com

07/29/04: "Smith destroyed people at the Super Showcase in Orlando and has at least 10-15 new schools jumping in." - PrepSpotlight.com

07/28/04: "There are two schools that respect the rising junior’s game. "Cincinnati and Georgetown would have to be my top two schools right now,” Smith said. “Those are the two I really like right now." Michigan and Michigan State are also involved with the top in-state player in the class of 2006. Smith said he has no plans on visits and remains open to more schools." - RivalsHoops.com

06/23/04: "Smith, another talented class of 2006 point guard, listed Cincinnati and Georgetown as his top two schools at the moment." - RivalsHoops.com

06/07/04: "Smith was a demon in the paint throughout the afternoon. He continuously power dribbled around defenders and made it all the way to the hole with jump steps. His 24 first half points paced his team." - GoBlueWolverine Magazine