3-star SG Zhaire Smith chooses Texas Tech over Texas

At 1:30 p.m., three-star Lakeview Centennial shooting guard Zhaire Smith brought his recruitment to a close and committed to Chris Beard and the Texas Tech Red Raiders over Shaka Smart and the Texas Longhorns.

The in-state talent has spent the past couple months on the road visiting some of his finalists. Smith unofficially visited the Longhorns on February 25 before officially visited the Forty Acres on March 17. The Red Raiders have received Smiths more recent visits, officially hosting him on March 24 and then again unofficially for a four-day stretch from Thursday to Sunday.

As we now know, Texas Tech got the last visit and the last laugh and earned Smith’s commitment over the likes of Texas, as well as a host of other programs including Arkansas, Kansas State, Memphis and Georgia Tech, among others.

An explosive athlete, Smith was dubbed by the Dallas Morning News as the best dunker in the Dallas-area and his sheer athleticism will aid in Smith making a two-way impact at the next level and as a senior, Smith averaged 20.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Smith ranks as the nation’s No. 199 player, No. 40 shooting guard and the No. 15 player in Texas, per 247Sports.