LJ Smith might be the youngest player on the Ohio State men’s basketball team, but he is not backing down from anybody as the squad goes through summer workouts ahead of a two-game exhibition trip to Puerto Rico next week.
The 6-4 Smith is a native of Lincolnton, N.C., which is located just northwest of Charlotte. He was originally a 2027 prospect. Smith was an early commit to Ohio State in November 2025, just as he was beginning his junior season at Oak Hill Academy. In late May, he made the decision to reclassify to the 2026 class and within a few weeks he had completed his graduation requirements and was cleared to join the Ohio State team for summer workouts.
The move was made to further fortify an OSU backcourt that will also feature returning junior shooting guard John Mobley Jr., junior guard Justin Pippen (Cal transfer), junior point guard Curtis Givens (Memphis transfer), senior guard Jimmie Williams (Duquesne transfer) and incoming freshman wing Anthony Thompson.
Smith and Thompson, a national top-10 prospect, give OSU two national top-30 prospects as freshmen on the 2026-27 team. That last time Ohio State had two national top-30 freshmen would have been in 2010 with forwards Jared Sullinger (ranked third nationally) and Deshaun Thomas (ranked 18th). Smith and Thompson are joined by forward Alex Smith and center Vuk Lazarevic as freshmen on this year’s team.
Smith picked Ohio State over offers from Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Memphis, Mississippi State, Wichita State, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and others.
He was a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American second team pick at Lincolnton High School in 2024-25. He was the District 10 Player of the Year as he tallied 33.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game to lead the Wolves (24-6) to the third round of the Class 2A state tournament.
Smith led the state in scoring average each of his two high school seasons, including setting a North Carolina state high school record with 935 points scored as a sophomore.
This past year at Oak Hill, he ended up ninth in the EYBL Scholastic scoring 16.8 points per game. He was also 14th in three-point shooting at 38.7 percent over 14 games. He also averaged 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. His Oak Hill team was 7-7 in EYBL Scholastic play.
This spring, he has split his time between Team Thad and Team Melo. In 11 games Nike EYBL games, Smith averaged 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He hit just over 41 percent of his three-point shots.
We caught up with Smith after a recent summer practice session. He was asked why he decided to reclassify and enroll at Ohio State this year.
“I think I was just ready to come get better at the college level and develop my game all around,” Smith said. “I think it was my ability to score the ball and shoot the ball. I feel like if I just got bigger, stronger and faster, then my game would take a big leap.”
Asked about his indoctrination to college basketball after one month, Smith said, “Things go a little fast. I’m a little uncomfortable, but I’m getting there.”
Below, we have video of Smith’s interview session. We also have excerpts from his comments below.