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Found some more info on Wellington Smith. Rivals NJ has an article this morning that says he will commit to the Jackets (I found someone had posted the details on a public board). No word yet if this article is valid or not.......... Smith plays on the same AAU Team (Playaz) as Wayne Ellington (UNC), Gerald Henderson (Duke) and Earl Clark, so no wonder he doesn't have a lot of press. Another reason is that he was about 6'4" as a sophomore and grew about 3 inches. And it was his senior season that he really blossomed. Here are some very interesting comments:
4/1/05 NJO: Union county season in review Player of the year: Wellington Smith was a very solid inside presence for the 2003-04 Summit team that advanced to the Group 2 state final. His quickness in the lane and rebounding and shot-blocking skills were great complements to the perimeter play of brothers Dwayne and Dwight Reid.
With the Reid brothers gone this season, Summit would be lacking athletic ability and firepower from the wings, and Smith's job would be made doubly hard.
Or, so it was presumed.
But Smith transformed his game almost completely since last season, evolving from an interior terror with the occasional jump shot to a legitimate 3-point threat (58 for the season) with the ability to break the press with his ballhandling. The 6-7 senior averaged 20.5 points per game and, again, guided Summit to the Group 2 championship, where it fell to Haddonfield.
Smith, with 1,224 career points, received offers from schools such as Fairfield, Maine and Hofstra last fall, but has since spawned the interest of many higher-level Division 1As. He said he may attend a prep school, perhaps Blair Academy in Blairstown, in the fall.
For his Summit team, Smith was named group 2 1st team, all-county, all-conference 1st team, all-area 1st team, team captain, team MVP, you get the point. He averaged 21 pts/game, 11.2 boards and hit 60 3pt shots, or about 2 per game............. Set his high school career scoring and rebounding marks................. In one game Jan 27 Smith had 39 points, 13 blocks....... He had 14 blocks in another game.............. Back in December he had a game with 18 pts, 17 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks......... In another game in March of 2004 he had 21 pts, 9 boards and 10 blocks...... He led his team in points, assists, rebounds and was their best outside shooter.
Here's another comment I found on Smith:
4/1/05 NJO: Union county season in review Player of the year: Wellington Smith was a very solid inside presence for the 2003-04 Summit team that advanced to the Group 2 state final. His quickness in the lane and rebounding and shot-blocking skills were great complements to the perimeter play of brothers Dwayne and Dwight Reid.
Also note that site named him to the "all long-distance team" and the "all windex team", the all-senior 1st team, all-union 1st team, etc.
So with all that, why isn't he more highly recruited? Apparently he has no other major Div I-A offers. He doesn't even have a profile in the Rivals database. He is fully qualified and a good student but has chosen to attend prep school at Blair (which has a total population of about 400-500 students and less than 20 post-graduate students). Why - evidently to expand his opportunity to play at the major Div I-A level. It's strange though, because schools like Seton Hall, Rutgers, Penn State, West Virginia, Boston College, Cincy and even Wake Forest have shown interest. So where are the offers.
Here's my take - sounds like he didn't get the high-major offers he wanted. Why? He only blossomed during his senior season when he was given a chance to play on the outside (after growing 3 inches). He was solid on the inside, but really showed game on the perimter. However, it was too little too late attract offers from high major schools................. He wants to show them he's got that level of game and that's why the prep route. He doesn't want to go to a school like Hofstra then transfer later................... In the meantime, maybe Coach Hewitt has decided that he would be a good addition to the 2005 squad. Is Coach Hewitt trying to convice him NOT to go the prep route and join the Jackets this fall? I don't know, but that's what it sounds like (if the NJ site article is accurate).