Recruiting Report: Dru Smith (2017)
LIBERTY — Park Hill junior Dru Smith is drawing interest from a host of mid-majors as he has seen his stock rise after a strong summer playing with Mo Kan Elite’s 16s. This week, Smith helped his Park Hill team…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingLIBERTY — Park Hill junior Dru Smith is drawing interest from a host of mid-majors as he has seen his stock rise after a strong summer playing with Mo Kan Elite’s 16s.
This week, Smith helped his Park Hill team reach the championship game of the William Jewell Tournament in Liberty, Mo. He is an athletic 6-foot-2 2017 point guard who can get to the rim and has a strong mid-range game.
“I can get my teammates involved with open looks and easy buckets because of my court vision,” Smith said. “I enjoy the pick-and-roll a lot and I am great in transition, and the defensive part of the game comes natural to me as well.
“The person who influenced my game the most is my dad. He has been there for me through everything. I like to pattern my game after Russell Westrbook, John Wall, and Damian Lillard because they are players I look up to and try to play like.”
Smith’s summer coach, Chris Neff says he is also an aggressive player who brings energy and passion to the court.
“Dru is a long rangy athlete,” MoKan coach Chris Neff said. “He plays with so much aggression on both ends of the court. Every time he gets the ball he is always attacking, and he brings so much energy in transition abilities.”
Smith said playing with MoKan during the summer has helped his game grow.
“MoKan has helped my game grow a lot,” Smith said. “They spend so much time with me in the gym on the basic fundamentals of basketball, and I feel like that is really underrated. They put me in front of college coaches as well so I can showcase my talent.”
He doesn’t hold any offers, but Smith is drawing interest from Missouri State, University of Northern Iowa, University of South Dakota, Wichita State, Southeast Missouri State, University of Tulsa, and Western Illinois
“My recruitment is slowly blowing up as I get better,” he said. “I am working on becoming a better 3-point shooter because I want to make people pay when they go under screens. I am also working on tightening up my handles and overall just becoming a better player.”