Mullins basketball star Eric Smith officially commits to Gamecocks

University of South Carolina basketball has landed their point guard of the future. Mullins Auctioneers basketball star Eric Smith has officially committed to play for the Gamecock program. Smith made the announcement after an unofficial campus visit on Thursday. The underclassmen met the university’s athletic director, Eric Hyman. According to Sports Illustrated, the South Eastern Conference was awarded the longest television contract ever, worth 3.1 billion dollars with ESPN to televise basketball and football games beginning in 2009.
The junior point guard led the Auctioneers to a 24-1 record during the 2007-2008 season and returns as one of the top players in the 2010 class. ESPN recruiting list Smith among the top 60 players in his class, and ESPN.com’s national recruiting coordinator Bob Gibbons said USC Coach Darrin Horn landed an outstanding future floor leader. Horn began his recruitment of the young star immediately after landing the job with the Gamecocks within weeks of a NCAA tournament run with Western Kentucky University, visiting Mullins High School back in May. Smith received a scholarship offer from Clemson University when he was just a freshman. His father Steve Smith coached the Latta High School basketball team to consecutive Class A state championships with Raymond Felton, who went on to become an All-American point guard at the University of North Carolina.
Smith made the All-Tournament team at the 2008 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. He also plans to play in the Bob Gibbons All Star showcase in Winston Salem on Sept. 21-22 and the Elite75prep showcase in Gastonia,NC on Sept. 26-27. He is the first recruit in the 2010 Gamecock class, coming just as USC guard Devan Downey will be wrapping up his senior year.
Smith said he likes coach Horn’s system and the energy he brings to the program, adding that he feels the coach can help with his development in becoming a better point guard. “I think he can get me to the next level,” he said.