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5-star recruit Dennis Smith cuts list to 6, includes Duke, Kentucky

ESPN’s No. 1 point guard in the class of 2016 has cut his list to six schools.

Ricky O'Donnell
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.

Dennis Smith is arguably the top point guard in the class of 2016, and on Friday the North Carolina native announced his final six schools. Smith listed Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest and Louisville as his final suitors, according to ESPN.

Smith is a dynamic 6’1 guard who is explosive around the rim and also a lethal pull-up shooter. He’s ranked as the No. 4 overall recruit on ESPN, and the top point guard. Within a strong class of 2016, Smith leads an impressive point guard group that also includes Kobi Simmons, De’Aaron Fox and UCLA commit Lonzo Ball.

Duke is already off to a strong start in the class of 2016 with the commitment of Jayson Tatum, and has made no secret of the fact that they covet Smith. If No. 1 player Harry Giles ends up following Tatum to Duke, as has been speculated, the addition of Smith could give the Blue Devils the clear-cut No. 1 class.

Smith plays on the adidas circuit for Team Loaded NC, so it’s no surprise to see a couple adidas schools on here in NC State and Louisville. The Wolfpack have been courting Smith for years, and Mark Gottfried had a first row seat to watch him in Indianapolis earlier this spring. You can read more about that weekend on the AAU circuit here.

The addition of Wake Forest is interesting because that’s another school that has been going hard after Giles.

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