Charles Smith IV talks commitment to Cal
Shortly after announcing his commitment to Cal on Tuesday, 2019 4-star shooting guard Charles Smith IV caught up with GoldenBearReport.com to talk about his decision and what he hopes to bring to the Cal program. Smith is the first commitment the Golden Bears have received in the 2019 class.
When evaluating his options, Smith felt like Cal was the best spot for him for a variety of reasons. They fit what he wanted from a basketball, academic, and environmental perspective. When looking at the comprehensive package of what Cal offers, he felt like it was a no brainer decision.
“I went up to the school a while back. I got to look around campus, talk to all the coaches and the coaching staff, and it just seemed like a really good place for me,” Smith said. “They’ve been on me for a long time, talking about how much they wanted me, how they could use me, and what I can get from going there and it just seemed like it would be a great spot for me. I know some of the kids that are coming in, some of the kids that are already there, and just the way that the program is moving and the direction that they’re going it just seemed like it would be great for me.
“Being able to play in the Pac-12. That’s always a good thing. Being able to be on the West Coast, going to the number one public institution in the world, there’s just a whole lot of good things about this school. There’s no one thing that I can put my finger on.”
While there is no one thing that Smith can identify as the primary reason for his decision, one major factor is the opportunity to reunite with Darius McNeill and Jacobi Gordon, two guys who he played AUU ball with during the summer of his freshman year. Both of those guys have played a huge role in his development both on and off the court.
“Freshman year summer we were all on the same AAU team and they were like my older brothers pretty much,” Smith said of McNeill and Gordon. “Just telling me how to play, what I need to do to get to where I need to go. Showing me what to do and what not to do. What to do on social media. Just stuff like that. So just having them around is really just like having family around.”
As for what he expects to bring to the Cal program, Smith expects to bring lights out shooting and an ability to help Wyking Jones better implement the type of system that he wants to run, which is predicated on pressing, forcing turnovers, and getting out in the open floor.
“The first thing I think I bring is a winning attitude,” Smith said. “Just because I’ve won two state championships already. I was real close to winning a third this year. As of on the court, being able to spread the floor, shoot it, being able to guard the ball, guard multiple positions and just being able to help my teammates out in any way possible.
“From what they told me, they said they could really use a shooter and they have a lot of stuff to get me open, to get me shots and a lot of things that can help me help them win games. So it seemed like it would be a great spot for me.”
If there’s any player who Smith seems to draw comparisons to, it would be a young Ray Allen. Like Allen, Smith can really shoot the ball and he’s also able to guard multiple positions on the floor.
“From what I’ve been told from a lot of people, they said a young Ray Allen in Milwaukee, UConn, and Seattle,” Smith said. “They said my game most likely resembles his. The shooting aspect of course, but then also being able to use a couple of moves, a couple of dribbles, go to the basket, jump over people, go around them, guard the ball, guard different positions.”
When looking ahead to his academic career at Cal, Smith is hoping to major in computer science. It’s something that he’s always found to be interesting and he seems to have a natural talent for it as well.
“I’ve always kind of been fond of computer science,” Smith said. “That’s just been something that I haven’t really looked into, but it just seems like it’s been fun. I kinda have a natural gift at it when I did do something. That’s probably the route I would go down if I had to pick right now. Just being able to work with computers. Type programs and be able to do things that I’ve always wanted to do and it’s actually fun for me. Being able to do something like that with computers.”
With his senior year of high school still ahead of him, Smith has more that he wants to accomplish before he gets to Cal. As excited as he is to play college basketball, it’s not like he’s losing sight of the upcoming season he has ahead of him.
“I want to win the EYBL Peach Jam this summer and I also want to win the Georgia state championship next school year,” Smith said. “Those are two of my biggest goals right now.”
When it comes to finding guys who fit what Cal is looking for, Charles Smith IV seems to perfectly fit the bill. He fits the style that Wyking Jones wants to implement and he also fits the academic profile that Cal wants to have in their student athletes. Cal really couldn’t ask for a better commitment to kick off the 2019 recruiting class.