INTEL: Ranking the contenders for four-star Deshawn Harris-Smith

Deshawn Harris-Smith is On3’s No. 45 player in the 2023 rankings. He was the leader of a Team Takeover squad that made a run to the Peach Jam finals.

Much of the reason On3 is higher on Harris-Smith than the industry standard On3 Consensus at No. 62 is because of how the 6-foot-5 wing affects winning. Through 27 games on Nike’s EYBL Circuit this summer, he averaged 12.4-points, 7.4-rebounds, 2.6-assists, and shot 41.2 percent from three.

Harris-Smith took five official visits: Villanova, Xavier, Penn State, Indiana, and Maryland (from first to last).

With an expert pick placed into On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), let’s review the intel as we rank the contenders.

1. Maryland

Maryland is the hometown school, and new head coach Kevin Willard and staff have spent tireless hours wanting to build the program by locking down the DMV area. The Terrapins were the last school to get an official visit from Harris-Smith. They dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s for the four-star had with the depth chart and development questions.

Willard and his staff built a great relationship with Harris-Smith as a central figure looking toward the program’s future.

Maryland’s chances: 90 percent

2. Villanova

There was a lot of smoke around Villanova dating back to last year. That smoke shifted after Jay Wright retired. Kyle Neptune got Harris-Smith on campus early and tried to develop that relationship, but Harris-Smith was simply more comfortable elsewhere.

Villanova’s chances: 5 percent

3. Indiana

Indiana made a good run at Deshawn Harris-Smith, landing his second to last official visit and rolling out the red carpet. Head coach Mike Woodson’s NBA background stood out, as did the fan support surrounding the program.

Indiana’s chances: 2.5 percent

4. Penn State

Penn State got in with Harris-Smith early, and they earned his second official visit. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry did an excellent job of developing a relationship, and the staff pitched early playing time to the four-star. Much like with Villanova, at the end of the day, there was just a stronger draw elsewhere.

Penn State’s chances: 2.5 percent

Final intel

Since being named head coach, Kevin Willard has prioritized locking down the DMV. A central figure in keeping that talent home in 2023 is Deshawn Harris-Smith. Already committed are DMV natives four-star Jamie Kaiser and three-star Johnathan Lamothe. Harris-Smith is familiar with both, having played with them growing up. They all bring a local pride in bringing Maryland back to its glory days.

Willard did an excellent job of building a relationship with Harris-Smith and discussing building a fence around the local area. Willard also showed the four-star wing exactly how they would play him and that the depth chart ahead of Harris-Smith was thin. Harris-Smith is particularly close with Jamie Kaiser, so when he decided to stay home with Maryland, it was only a matter of time before Harris-Smith did as well.

At the end of the day, staying home, playing with his friends, and the opportunity to play early was too much for the other programs to overcome.

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine

I have placed my expert pick in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Deshawn Harris-Smith to choose Maryland. I set my pick with a 90 confidence rating.

The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.