Bleeding Blue & Gray: Jordan Smith Jr. — Georgetown’s Shot at the No. 2 Player in 2026
In this episode of Bleeding Blue & Gray, we dive into one of the biggest recruiting storylines in college basketball — Jordan Smith Jr., the elite 5-star combo guard ranked No. 2 nationally in the 2026 class. Smith recently revealed his Top 6 schools: Georgetown, Duke, Kentucky, Syracuse, Indiana, and Arkansas, instantly igniting speculation across the recruiting world.
We break down why Ed Cooley and the Georgetown Hoyas have emerged as a serious contender for Smith’s commitment, how his skillset could transform the Hoyas’ backcourt, and why landing him would be a major statement for Georgetown basketball’s rebuilding efforts. You’ll hear analysis of his game — from explosive scoring ability to elite court vision — plus how he stacks up against other top recruits in the 2026 class.
Whether you’re a die-hard Georgetown basketball fan, a college basketball recruiting follower, or just someone tracking the next generation of high school stars, this deep dive into Jordan Smith Jr.’s recruitment is a must-listen.
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Who is Jordan Smith Jr.? Find out this episode. [Music] Hey, Owen. How you doing? I’m doing good. What about you? I’m great. I’m really looking forward to this episode. Um there’s a lot of excitement around this player and uh it’s so nice to know that we are doing really well on the recruiting trail. But what do you what do you know? What can you tell our audience? So Jordan Smith Jr. named his um top six schools the other day and Georgetown was a part of that list. Also there was Duke, Kentucky, Arkansas, Syracuse and Indiana. So Jordan Smith Jr. is the number two overall player in the class of 2026. And um this is just a monumental recruiting recruiting player for Georgetown because being a top two recruit we don’t see that often on the Hilltop. We don’t see generational talent like Smith Jr. He stands in at 63 and he has athlete elite athleticism, advanced shot creation, and the ability to completely control the pace of a game. He’s the type of guard who could step onto any college campus and dominate and change the pace from day one. He’s a projected NBA top pick in 2027 and wherever he lands, he will instantly become a national story line. So, so let’s talk more about the what this means specifically for Georgetown. This isn’t just a big recruiting moment for Georgetown, but it’s a defining one. Being in the final group for the number two player in the country shows that Ed is moving to another level of recruiting and is starting to recruit players at the highest level. It signals to other elite players such as Alex Constanza, Kaden Samuels, and Luca Foster that Georgetown is once again a serious destination and something they should seriously consider. And if Smith Jr. were to commit, it would be the program’s biggest win recruiting win in over a decade and maybe even longer. He fits the the Georgetown system to a tea. He’s aggressive on both ends, unafraid of pressure, and built for the big stage. The Hoya are have momentum on him right now, and I think that Smith Jr. would turn that momentum into a national resurgence. The bottom line for this recruitment is that it’s a battle where Georgetown needs to stay until the end until they’re told there’s no way they land him. Just making the top six is a statement, but landing him would change the future of the program overnight. Ron Bailey reported that JSJ visits often and was even on campus Sunday two days before cutting his list watching the squad practice. I’m extremely excited about JSJ and I think that if he does come to Georgetown, it will bring a lot of other players, too. What do you think, Rashene? Well, JSJ, I agree. He would put us back on the recruiting map. He would help us attract other players like you said and uh of course on the court he would take us to another level. It would be hard for us not to be a tournament team every year if he’s healthy. Um just want to give you guys a little bit more background on him. He’s got great um he’s got great experience. Um he is a member of power two powerhouse teams. Paul V 6, Michan Tilly, and then also team takeover, an AEU program that Georgetown is making inroads with. He really shined at the uh the under9 FIVA World Cup in Switzerland. In fact, Ed went over and watched him and he was just one of four high school guys that were there. So, that’s a that’s a great honor for a 17-year-old. The consensus from what I can gather on JSJ is he’s a competitor. He’s a winner. He’s very athletic and he locks down people. He’s he’s going to be an elite defender immediately once he gets to the college level. Yeah. I mean, I think JSJ along with just being a great player himself, he’s going to bring along a lot of great players as well. Uh today, Luca Foster announced his list of his top nine, which we don’t really see that often anymore, but in his top nine, Georgetown was included with Nova, Oklahoma, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia, Gonaga, Pit, and Oregon. And Georgetown has an official visit scheduled for September 20th with him. I feel like JSJ is just bringing Georgetown just to people to see Georgetown in his top six that was posted a couple days ago. It’s making people view Georgetown differently and if they and I feel like if multip multiple people could come to Georgetown for 2026, we’re going to automatically be a tournament team and we could make a push in March. There was a really interesting article about him in the athletic on Monday. And there’s a really great quote that I think sums them up. He said, “I really just want to win. If you I feel like if you win, you get anything you want. All the offers, all the gear, all the accolades.” That’s a really mature attitude for a 17-year-old. Also, to bring that mentality to any college campus is just amazing because you’re a young guy. You’re not supposed to be a leader right away. But I think JSJ could step into our team whether we’re an older team next year, whether we’re a younger team like we have in the past two years and thrive and show be a leader on our team. And I think if he does come to Georgetown, whatever college he goes to, I think he’s going to be a oneanddone player. So he has one shot in college to do stuff in March Madness and make a name for himself. And I have no doubt that he’s going to be able to do that no matter where he goes. But I think Georgetown sets up a great place for him because we don’t have that star star player and him coming in as the number two player in the nation. In some places he is ranked one, in some places he’s ranked less than two. But either way, him coming in, I think it’d be huge for Georgetown. It would revive basketball on the hilltop and it would just be something unheard of. I don’t think anybody has him less than five. Have you Have you seen anything like that? I saw him I I think the RI rivals ranked him at six in the latest. Yeah. Which I really He’s the top two guard in the in the country and they ranked him Yeah. six. I really did not like that ranking. I commented it on my Twitter, but I got a lot of feedback that I think Stephen Anthony made this point that they’re ranking them based off their NBA potential and he’s a shorter guy, which is really the only I think weakness that he has is that he’s short, but I think he makes up for for that shortness with his physicality, his athleticism, being able to block guys that are way bigger than him and just get over the rim. So, that’s where I disagree with you. I think he’s got a few weaknesses. Um, I think you’re right that his athleticism allows him to um to compensate, but if you if you watch him, you’ll see that he’s really good in the mid-range. He’s really good at getting the bas to the basket, but his jump his jumper from longer distances really doesn’t have a lot of consistency. So, he’ll have to improve that. uh his playmaking could be better, but that’s pretty typical of combo guards that they’re more developed on the shooting guard side than the the point guard side. Um I would say he can get better at creating off the dribble. him what I’d like to see him um create a little more separation from from defenders um when he’s getting to the basket still as you know with all that he’s a perfect fit for Kulie system because Kulie emphasizes pace and defense so I don’t I don’t think he’ll have any problems adjusting to college. So, I know we got his top six on Tuesday, but what do you think his top two or three is in his recruiting process? If you just had a prediction, that’s really hard because these are all pretty big money, big NIL spending programs. Many of them, actually, I hate all of these programs. So, it’s very hard for me to uh to pick one of them. I’m going to say Duke because Duke always has a great recruiting class. And then Arkansas. Arkansas has a lot of money. Calipari is one of the elite recruiters. If you want to go one and done, that’s exactly the coach that I would go for. It’s the SEC, which is right, is the best conference in college basketball right now. So, yeah, that’s what I’ I’d say Duke and Arkansas. But any of them could be, you know, not any of them. I don’t think I can’t imagine Syracuse really being a serious contender. I actually think Syracuse is in his top three, but I think Syracuse is only in his top three for um a strategic standpoint. If I were him, I think and I’m going to Georgetown, I put my top three as Duke or Arkansas in one of the spots and then Georgetown and Syracuse because Georgetown and Syracuse obviously have a rivalry back when they were both playing each other in the same conference. And that may happen again soon. And I feel like him putting Syracuse and Georgetown together will stir up a lot of stuff and it will make it kind of be a bidding war. But I think a conspiracy theory that you’re espousing right now. Yeah. I mean that’s just I just think that’s a strategic play from him to end up at Georgetown. You put in a Georgetown raffle. But I definitely see him ending on the Hilltop next season wearing a Hoya uniform along with um Malik Mack next season and Justin Calwell. You know what’s what’s interesting about this six? Half of them are rebuilding programs. Indiana, Syracuse, and Georgetown. So, he obviously wouldn’t mind being part of restoring those brands. And that gives you hope. Yeah. I mean, it really depends what he’s looking for. if he’s looking for a team where he can go maybe not be the main guy but be on the starting five and not or he could be going for a rebuilding team where he wants to bring them back and play on the starting five their star player the ball’s in his hands he’s the main player it just depends what he really wants if I were him I’d be going for a rebuilding team bring that bring that team to March Madness and show the fans and that leads that if he can’t go to the NBA he has a home for him and his home is Washington DC. So I think a great home for him in college would be Washington DC and Georgia. How how how excited do you think he would be to uh stay here? I know obviously being here has the advantage of your friends and family can come see you play. I mean I just think being a hometown hero is something that like everyone thinks about when they’re like a young child playing basketball in their room playing basketball. They’re always thinking like to play for their hometown team and win it for their hometown is just a big thing. And I think it would be very exciting for him to be able to win for his hometown and bring Georgetown back and obviously have his family members and friends be 10 20 minutes away from the stadium being able to go and watch him play and ball out every night. I think that’s something that these other schools don’t add that we have a huge um huge case for. If let’s say Georgetown landed him, do you think he would start next season immediately? Yeah. I mean, I don’t see a world where he comes to a team and doesn’t start because I see him starting at Duke. I see him starting at Arkansas. I mean, the number two player in the nation doesn’t go to a place to just sit and I just think he has to start. But yeah, what about you? What do you think? Oh, I think so, too. I think I I’d start him at shooting guard, although that would be a pretty pretty short back court with Mac. So, let me let me walk that back. Can’t, you know, that’s, you know, would he start over Mac? Would that be Mac would have to be gone basically? Yeah. I mean, I think one of them end up at Indiana, and I don’t think that’s Jordan Smith Jr. So, I feel like next year it’ll be a very different team. And if we land JSJ, because I think not when we get JSJ, we don’t just get him. I think if we get Jordan Jr., we already have Caldwell. I think we’re gonna get Alex Constanzo. I think we’re going to get um Kaden Samuels. But if we do land Jordan Jr., I think that kind of rules us out for Luca Foster. And I’d obviously rather Jordan Smith Jr., but I think we could get one of the best recruiting classes in the nation if we land Jordan Smith Jr. because of just what comes with him. Do um do you think uh well, how do you think this affects our relationship with team takeover? I mean, obviously we already have a very good relationship with um TTO. I mean, we see Kyle Williams DM about it all the time. #TO Hoyos. We’re just creating such a great relationship. And I feel like that’s something that we need because in a hometown with so many great players coming out from high school, you need to have a relationship with that team because that already gives you a plus on every other team in the nation to be able to land you when you’re from that hometown. And I think it’s just something that a lot of players keep in mind when they’re thinking about a Georgetown versus Arkansas is I’m going to be at home. I’m gonna be at a place where I already know I love. And even in Jordan Jr.’s top six posts, his background was Washington DC. So, I mean, I’m I think he loves his hometown. He loves He really wants to be with his family. And I just think it would be amazing if he could come ball for us. A good chunk of what I am so excited about him is the growth of the relationship with Team Takeover. I think that would be huge. Um, for those who saw the Marcus Washington and uh Twitter spaces. One of the things he said was, “You don’t know how much the last 10 years damaged the relationships with AAOU.” Um JT3 and especially Union, Patrick Euing just didn’t want to um to make those relationships and our competitors did, right? That’s why Villanova has been able to come in and steal people for a decade. That’s why Duke has been able to come in and get guys. So, everything we can do to repair that relationship and more importantly keep those other schools out, I’m for. Yeah, I completely agree. And I think Ed just has a different view on recruiting. I think that’s one of the reasons we brought him in in the first place. He’s such a good recruiter and he knows what to say at the right time and how to bring players in, but he’s not giving them BS. He’s giving them real things that they come here, they’re going to start, they’re going to play. He can bring these players to the NBA level. We saw with Thomas Sorber, who wasn’t even in any mock drafts when he joined Georgetown. Same with Micah Peavey. And they both got brought up to be star players for Georgetown last season and eventually drafted 15th pick and 40th pick in the NBA draft. Yeah, I think that’s a huge part of Ed’s appeal is that he’s very honest and people respect that and even if it doesn’t work out, he maintains relationships with people, right? So, we that’s why he’s so good at getting guys who want a second bite at the apple, like maybe they were highly ranked, things didn’t work out and they want to come back home. You know, it’s sometimes that doesn’t work out, but a lot of times it does for Well, that’s all for this episode. Thank you for joining us on Bleeding Blue and Gray. Please hit the like and subscribe buttons. That’s really important to us because it helps people discover the podcast and be and be seen. Also follow us on Twitter at Big East Hoya, my co-host, our podcast feed, Bleedblue 1789, and of course, I’m Hoya Optimus 33. Until next time, let’s go Hoya.
