While I honestly don’t know if the former Wright State 6-foot-4 and 205 pound transfer guard (now playing for Chattanooga), Malachi Smith is going to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft, I do know that he would be a prospect to watch in this class if he decides to. Smith is in his redshirt sophomore campaign with the Mocs, and is one of the underrated breakout stars around the college hoops landscape. This is someone that really should be on the radar of the Chicago Bulls.
Last year, first-year executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley found an unheralded player in big man Marko Simonovic in the second round of the draft. This year, they could dig deep again in the draft for a player like Smith.
Not many 2021 NBA Draft big boards or mocks are going to have Smith going very high, if they have him listed at all. He is just one year into breaking through, and he is not getting the national recognition he deserves as of yet.
Smith is a former unranked recruit that landed with Wright State as part of their 2018 recruiting class. He only played one year with the Raiders until he transferred to Chattanooga. Since he transferred after just one year in college, Smith had to sit out last season. This weird college hoops season is Smith’s first actually playing for Chattanooga.
There’s not much more that the Mocs could ask of Smith that what he’s given them so far. The sophomore leads the team in points per game, rebounds, assists, and steals. As a result, this could be the best Chattanooga team since the 2015-16 campaign, when a 29 win squad made it to the NCAA Tournament.
What the Chicago Bulls should be watching from Smith
This Chattanooga team is certainly a contender to reach the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis, IN. That largely depends on how they fair in the Southern Conference Tournament later this month. The Southern Conference Tournament runs from March 5-8, and the Mocs will have to compete with the likes of UNC-Greensboro, Wofford, Furman, etc., to claim the conference title.
They do have the right guy to lead them there in Smith. He’s averaged an impressive 16.8 points per game, 8.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks. Smith has shot 46.0 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.2 percent from the free-throw line.
The counting stats and shooting percentages have really broken through for Smith this season.
But it’s the advanced metrics that help to tell the complete story for this breakthrough sophomore. Smith has registered a 2.5 box plus/minus rating, .157 win shares per 40 minutes, 3.5 total win shares, 107 offensive rating/97 defensive rating, 55.7 true shooting percentage, and a 21.8 player efficiency rating.
Smith is a solid on-ball defender, runs well in transition, can create his own shot, and can stroke it from deep. There’s not much that Smith has shown he can’t do for the Mocs, which is why he should be at least getting some considerations as a potential hidden gem in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft.
Again, that is assuming he declares early after this season.
What should appeal to the Bulls in particular about Smith are his gifted physical tools (lengthy wingspan and large frame for a combo guard), versatile creating ability, and consistent effort on both ends of the floor. He’s one of the more difficult guards to matchup against on the perimeter on both ends of the floor, which could continue to make him a force to be reckoned with at the next level.
The former Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection is putting together a season that could soon get put into a brighter national spotlight. And he’s a potential prospect in this draft class that the Bulls could look to in the second round, or even get early eyes on as a possible undrafted free agent signing.
As of this moment, it doesn’t look like the Bulls are going to have as high of a draft pick in the first or second round as they’re usually accustomed to. But if someone like Smith falls to them at an opportune time in the draft, they should take advantage. It will be fun to watch this Chattanooga player come March Madness.