Fayetteville, Ark. — Arkansas Razorbacks, under the leadership of coach John Calipari, are in the running for another top 15 transfer, as reported by Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Deivon Smith, a former Utah point guard, is exploring his fourth collegiate team in five years and is taking time to make his decision. Smith began his college basketball career in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with Mississippi State during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season. During his freshman year, he played in 33 games for the Bulldogs, starting eight, and delivered respectable stats—averaging five points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal per game.
Following two underwhelming seasons at Georgia Tech, Smith transferred to Utah for his senior year, where he showed significant improvement both statistically and in terms of team success. The seasoned point guard played a pivotal role in helping the Utes achieve a 22-15 overall record and a 9-11 record in the PAC-12, marking Utah’s first 20-win season since 2017-18.
247sports ranks Smith as one of the nation’s top available transfers on the market at No. 12 amongst all prospects, No. 3 at point guard and tne No. 5 uncommitted transfer. The 6-foot-1, 175 pound guard averaged a career-high 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds per game this season. He connected on a career-high 47% of shot attempts, 41% from three and 68% at the free throw line.
Calipari will need an experienced point guard to lead his team this offseason with only 5-star true freshman Boogie Fland signed. Smith is a jitterbug with the ability to drive to the hoop quickly. He’s a three-level scorer who makes smart decisions with the basketball which backs up his four turnovers per 100 possessions over the previous four seasons.
Utah had six players shoot 71 or more shots from three with all of them averaging at least 34%. Out of 1,082 total shot attempts, Smith assisted on 18% of them. His ability to distribute and score at all levels would make Arkansas’ offense dangerous when combined with FAU transfer Johnell Davis and also on pick-and-roll sets with transfer Jonas Aidoo.
