Recruiting expert says commitment could be coming for Louisville basketball

One Rivals college basketball recruiting expert believes Louisville basketball could be on the verge of landing their first commitment in 2020.

September is going to be huge for Chris Mack and the future of the Louisville basketball program when it comes to recruiting.

With six players already planning official visits through the month, including four for Louisville’s second edition of “Louisville Live,” it seems that the first commitment for the 2020 class could be soon in the works.

Even after putting together an incredible recruiting class in his first season on the job, Chris Mack has the potential to take the talent at Louisville to another level. Right before our eyes, Louisville has become a destination school for some of the nation’s top recruits, including potential and one-and-done players.

Though there are no commitments at this point many believe that within the next few weeks things could change for Louisville, and change fast.

One recruiting expert in particular mentioned recently in a roundtable discussion about some of the nation’s top recruit, there’s one target that could potentially put the Cardinals on “commitment watch.”

Rivals college basketball recruiting experts Eric Bossi, Corey Evans, and Dan McDonald combined for a recruiting roundtable to talk about commitments, destinations, and much more for the class of 2020.

One of the questions answered in particular intrigued me. Answering who would be the next top 50 2020 recruit to commit,  Dan McDonald wrote:

"“It feels like (Shariffe) Cooper has been on commitment watch with Auburn for quite some time now, but I’ve been told he plans to wait it out and won’t be deciding any time soon. I’ll flip to another point guard here in Georgia and that’s Deivon Smith.”"

This is where it gets extremely intriguing. He went on to write:

"“Keep an eye on his visit to Louisville on Sept. 6. I wouldn’t be shocked if he pops for the Cardinals if all goes well.”"

Deivon Smith will be one of the most talented players that Chris Mack and his staff host on campus next month for an official visit. Ranked as the 44th best player in the nation by Rivals.com and the ninth-best point guard in the country, the Loganville, Georgia product doesn’t fit the traditional mold of point guards that we’ve heard about with Chris Mack over the last year and a half.

At just 5’11 Smith’s elite athleticism and playmaking make up for the two or three inches that would fit him into the “prototype” point guard at the college level. He dominated this summer on the Adidas AAU circuit and became one of the country’s most sought after true point guards in the class of 2020 and a top target for Chris Mack.

Louisville would be getting a pass-first point guard, who excels in the pick and roll as a decision-maker. He is a good scorer who is deliberate in his attack, setting up his teammates first and then using that to get himself going. Much like what we saw with Christen Cunningham last season, anytime Smith takes the floor he immediately makes everyone around him that much more dangerous.

Talking about his own game and the ability to get others involved, Smith told Evan Daniels of 247 Sports, “I think reading the defense, getting in between, finding mismatches, getting my teammates involved, rebounding and pushing the ball,” were his biggest strengths.

Smith recently cut his list of schools down from over 25 to 10, including Louisville along with Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Florida State, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and Oregon.

Louisville appears to be in a really good spot with Smith as they’ve spent a lot of time this summer at his games and making sure that the dynamic point guard knew he had a home as a Cardinal. Smith told Louisville recruiting writer Jody Demling earlier this summer, “They are coming pretty hard. I talk to coach (Mike) Pegues almost every day and coach Mack a lot. They are talking to me a lot and they really want me to be a part of the program.”

We’ve highlighted how Chris Mack used September last year to not only land the majority of his commitments but also to build up excitement around the fan base, which ultimately played a huge part in players like Aidan Igiehon committing.

Smith would be a game-changer for the 2020 class and could be a huge springboard forward. Will he commit? Only time will tell. But a statement like the one from McDonald, one of the nation’s top recruiting writers, is a sign that the Cards are in a great place moving forward.