Smart transfers to Viator
The transfer talk has been quiet this offseason, but that might be changing.
Rising junior Roosevelt Smart is leaving Palatine to attend St. Viator this fall. Smart’s family confirmed this week that he had enrolled at the Arlington Heights school.
‘‘I think it’s going to be great,’’ Smart said of the move. ‘‘I know there will be high expectations for us, but they’ve already had a lot of success in recent years. I just want to try and help build on the success they’ve already had.’’
The 6-2 guard has scholarship offers from Loyola, Northern Illinois and Creighton. Smart said he has heard from multiple Big Ten schools, including Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue and Iowa, and also has received interest from Boise State, Illinois State, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Smart put together an impressive sophomore season for the Pirates, averaging 18.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. He’s among the top dozen prospects in the Class of 2015 in Illinois and will join an already-talented St. Viator team.
Smart, who with his family moved out of Palatine this summer, will join a team that features 6-2 Ore Arogundade, who averaged 19.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and nearly three assists as a junior, is one of the top 20 prospects in the senior class in Illinois and has multiple mid-major Division I offers. Smart and Arogundade play with the Illinois Wolves AAU program in the offseason.
With Smart, Arogundade, rising junior point guard Mark Falotico (10.5 points, 3.7 assists last season) and up-and-coming junior Pat McNamara, coach Mike Howland’s team might be among the top 10 in the Chicago area when preseason rankings are released in November. The Lions finished 21-9 last season, falling to Stevenson in the sectional championship.