Jabari Smith discusses decision to attend Auburn, NBA future

Auburn freshman freshman forward Jabari Smith wouldn’t change a thing about his college decision. Following a 79-61 loss to Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, Smith said he would pick the Tigers again if he had the option.

“I feel like if I had to make this decision 1,000 more times, I would choose Auburn,” Smith said via AL.com’s Tom Green.

When asked directly about his future, Smith said he isn’t sure whether he will return for a second season. The 6-foot-10 Smith is a projected top five pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, with a recent ESPN mock draft predicting him No. 2 overall. He averaged 17.2 points and and 7.2 rebounds for the Tigers this past season.

Smith struggled to score Sunday against the Hurricanes, finishing with just 10 points and 15 rebounds on 3-for-16 shooting. Auburn as a whole wasn’t much better, making 30.4% of its total field goal and 19.2% of its 3-point attempts.

The Hurricanes were led by Isaiah Wong with 21 points, followed by Kameron McGusty with 20. Point guard Charlie Moore, who head coach Jim Larranaga had high praise for, added 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Jabari Smith was a five-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, choosing to attend Auburn over offers from blue blood programs such as Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina. The forward ranked as the No. 7 overall player in the class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Smith earned the SEC Freshman of the Year Award for his performance this season, and was also named first team all-conference. Although he hasn’t made his decision official yet, it would be surprising to see him return to Auburn given where he is projected to go. The 2022 NBA Draft is set to take place on June 23.

Stayed tuned to On3 for more news on Jabari Smith’s decision in the coming weeks.