Scoochie’s little brother becomes fifirstmember of ’21 class

Malachi Smith picks Dayton over Rutgers, Georgetown, others.

DAYTON — Mal a chi Smith announced his commitment to the Dayton Flyers men’s basketball program Saturday, becoming the fifirstmember ofUD’s 2021 recruiting class.

Smith, a 6-foot combo guard, is a senior at the St. Raymond School for Boys in Bronx, N.Y. If that hometownand his last name sound familiar to Dayton fans, it’s because Malachi is the brother of Scoochie Smith, a Bronx native and former Dayton point guard who helped lead the Flyers to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-17).

Despite that familyhistory, Malachi said following in his brother’s footsteps had nothing to do with his decision.

“They’re a good fifit,” Malachi said. “I had a good feeling. Everybody was tellingme you’re going to have that one school to keep in the back of your head. For me, it was Dayton. I trust Coach ( Anthony) Grant, the national coach of the year.”

Malachi is a three-star recruit who ranks 197th in the 2021 class, according the 247Sports.com composite rankings.

“Mali has a high IQ and good feel for the game like me,” said Scoochie, who’s now playing in

Serbia. “Whatever is going on in the game he will be able to control. Being able to attack and get others involved is his strong point.”

Dayton offered Malachi a scholarship in September 2019. Grant visited St. Raymond to make the offer. Scoochie was also there in the gym. He said he drove to

Georgetown, Rutgers and Oklahoma Statewere among the other schools that offeredMalachi a scholarship.

New York City fromAtlanta just to be there for the visit.

“I wanted to be there when Coach Grant blessed him with an amazing opportunity,” Scoochie said.

That wasn’t the first time Grant met Malachi. In the spring of 2017, not long after Archie Miller left for Indiana and Grant took the reins and when Malachi was in sixth grade, hevisited Scoochie for a week on the UD campus. Malachi doesn’t remember much about the visit except that he was in the practice gym a lot.

Still, the experience helped when Malachi wasn’ t able to take an official visit to Dayton this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Malachi also traveled with his dad, Elliot Rosado, to the Puerto Rico Tipoff tournament in 2014, at the start of Scoochie’s sophomore year. Malachi saw the passion of the Dayton fans that week.

“The only time those games were packed that week was when Dayton played,” Rosado said.

Georgetown, Rutgers and Oklahoma Statewereamong the other schools that offered Malachi a scholarship. His decision camedownto Dayton and Georgetown.

“We felt like Georgetown was pressing a little bit,” Rosado said. “At the start of this month, he called up Coach Grant and said he wasn’t going to make a decision until Aug 29. He said, ’Will you holdmy spot until then?’ Coach Grant said, ’Absolutely. I won’t do anything until Aug. 29.’ That kind of sealed the deal. It’s about who’s willing to wait for you.”

During the recruiting process this spring and summer, Grant, assistant coach Ricardo Greer and the rest of the staff communicated withMalachi via Zoom calls.

“He called us one day just to show on a Zoom call what they do andwhat they want,” Rosado said. “It felt like a film session. That for us was big.”

Grant also had to reassure Malachi hewould be his own player at Dayton even if he wasfollowingin the footsteps of a brotherwho ranks 28th in school history in scoring ( 1,273 points) and played with the winningest class (102 victories in four years) in school history.

“I said to Coach Grant, ‘Fifty percent feels like you want Mali, but I feel the other 50% has to do with his brother,’” Rosado said. “He said to Mali, ‘I’ve been fired before. That’ s not a good feeling. I’m not risking my job for nobody. Scoochiewas in the only class to go to the tournament four years in a row. Scoochie’s kind of a legend out there. You’re going to have to live with that. I can’t control the media. Whenyou commit, the story’s probably going to be: Scoochie’s little brother commits. But my job is to coach you. I’m coaching Malachi Smith.’”

Rosado said Grant did a great job recruiting Malachi, and it felt like it was meant to be.

Scoochie did offer advice to Malachi about UD.

“I let him know that they have a good staff there,”

Smith said, “and the campus is very family oriented.”

Scoochie said itmeansa lot to know he has had a good influence on his brother’s life, “but for him to make his own decisions like I did means evenmore. He’s been working hard with and without me all his life, so this is no different.”

Malachi will join a 202122 roster that will have one other player fromthe Bronx: KobyBrea, a Monsignor Scanlan graduate who will be a freshmanthis season, though there’s a chance he could redshirt. At least one other playerwill debut next season with Malachi: University of Southern California transfer ElijahWeaver, a point guard who is sitting out this season.

Dayton has one scholarship open for the 2020-21 season and will have four opening with Jalen Crutcher, Rodney Chat man, I bi Watson and Jordy Tshimanga exhausting their eligibility after thecoming season. Malachi will fill one of those scholarships.

“Malachi Smith is a great all-around player,” St. Raymondcoach JorgeLopez told Adam Zagoria, of ZagsBlog. com. “He is one of the best at breaking downdefenders and finishing at the basket through contact. The most impressive part of his game is his ability to pass in traffic. He is always one step ahead and is consistent at making the right plays for his teammates. During theoff-season, Malachi has spent a tremendousamount of time improving on his 3-point shooting and mid-range game. He is the type of player who will have an immediate impact on a team, wherever he decides to go.”