By SAM LANCE
BRANSON, MO — Class of 2025 four-star guard Legend Smiley will officially visit USC from Oct. 19-20, he told ZAGSBLOG.
Smiley — the 6-foot-6, 190-pound guard from Seattle and the NW Rotary Rebels Nike EYBL AAU program — looks to visit Michigan, Louisville, Washington State and LSU as well but no dates have been set. Right now, Smiley’s recruitment overall is pretty wide open.
“With the opportunity that came with Link [Academy], the coaches they bring in, I’m open to everybody,” Smiley said. “So talking to every coach, seeing what’s the best for me. Seeing the best fit for me and how I can come in, build a great relationship with the coaching staff and develop. With Link, we are playing in these national tournaments. These coaches come in almost every day, every practice. So I think it’s best for me to keep my list open.”
Smiley gave his thoughts on the five programs most involved right now:
USC: “USC, my dad went there when he went to college. Will Conroy, the new coaching staff, he’s an assistant coach, so he was at Washington and was recruiting me. That’s like my uncle. We’re tied in pretty well. But I just want to get out there, see how the program is with the new staff. Coach [Eric] Musselman is a great dude. I want to see how they do this year. I’m looking forward to getting out there and spending time with them.”
Smiley’s father is Roydell Smiley, who averaged 8.6 points per game at USC during the 2002-03 season.
Michigan: “That’s also a new staff. They came in here, we had a good talk. They want me to get down there, check the campus out and see how they do. Because it’s the new staff from FAU. They had a Final Four and they said I remind them of the guard — Johnell Davis. So you know, I definitely want to get out there. Looking at their roster too, it looks like they lose everybody. So I definitely want to take that visit and if it comes down to it, commit there.”
Louisville: “They came in here and we talked about the Seattle to Louisville pipeline. You got Terrence Williams, my cousin Koren Johnson goes there right now, he transferred from Washington. I definitely want to take that visit because they have a good pipeline with Seattle and Louisville dudes on the roster and on the staff. Peyton Siva, he’s like the development coach. I know if I go there I’m going to be getting the work in for sure.” Smiley added Siva was “a problem” at Louisville.
Washington State: “I definitely want to go to a school that’s close to home. So I ended up talking to Washington State. I think that’s a good school with a good program. They got a new staff too from Eastern Washington. Isaiah Watts, I was talking to him about Washington State. He said the development is very good. They are putting in the work everyday and it’s a battle in practice. It’s like war and I like that a lot.”
LSU: “I like LSU a lot. Sophomore year they came onto me. I was talking to coach [Jeff] Moore a lot. And we were just talking about everything. LSU’s background, the fans, the gym, the practices. Everything you can think of. Just talking to him, I felt like we built a very good relationship. So I talk to him almost every week. We just talk about practices, to when their season starts and what they’re doing off the court and all of that. I feel like that’s a very good — the most thing I look for in a college is building that relationship with the coach and then eventually the players. So that’s going to be a big decision in what I make.”
While he remains open, Smiley is still looking to sign early in November.
“I know I’m going to commit soon, so I don’t want to wait too late,” Smiley said. “I’m eying that early signing period, but if I have to, I’ll push it back to like January maybe December.”
This past summer for the Rotary Rebels, Smiley led the team in scoring. At Peach Jam playing in the PIT, he finished second among all scorers at 22.4 points per game, two spots ahead of his Link teammate Jerry Easter. Smiley added 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 21-of-68 (30.9%) from deep.
“Peach Jam, it was a great experience,” Smiley said. “Always a dog fight every game. And the atmosphere was crazy. College coaches on the side, the NBA scouts, the NBA celebrities, Carmelo [Anthony] just coming up after the game, talking to me — it was everything man. It was more than I can ask for.”
Smiley would like to carry his summer production over to Link and add consistency to his game.
“With your AAU team, you might be able to get 20-25 shots if you’re the star player, or 10-15 shots,” Smiley said. “But here coming to Link, everybody is good and everybody can do everything. So with me, I just want to be consistent. Even if I get 5-10-15 shots, I want to make all 5-10-15. So just staying consistent with every rep, staying locked in.”
Like several of his teammates at Link, Smiley is after one thing for his senior year.
“My No. 1 goal personally is win a national championship,” Smiley said. “Besides that, I would say my role on the team is they want me to stay aggressive. I can shoot it very well. Shooting it, catch and shoot. If I’m open just let it go. Just not overthinking it. Just playing my game and scoring whenever. I feel like our team right now, we mesh together very well and complement each other a lot in different areas.”
One Link coach said Smiley is the best shooter he’s seen at that age. The guard describes himself as a smooth, big guard who can score at all three levels.
“Wherever I go, they are getting a good dude and a dog,” Smiley said. “Everything.”
Smiley is ranked the No. 136 overall prospect in the 2025 class by 247Sports. His favorite NBA player is Kevin Durant, and a hidden talent of his is playing the piano.
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