Since the transfer portal opened on March 24, there has been nothing but silence.
For weeks, Braves fans waited — refreshing feeds, tracking rumors and commenting with red B emojis under the posts of any recruit linked to the 309.
Rumors came and went. Yet still, no commitments, just anticipation, theoretical lineups and coaching staff departures.
Things changed on Wednesday at approximately 10 a.m., when former James Madison forward AJ Smith broke the silence with a single tweet.
“Be Brave!! #COMMITTED”
Instantly, the drought was over. Braves fans found the post and quickly flooded Smith’s commitment with messages of excitement, support and hope directed at the six-foot-six-inch forward now set to don the red and white.
But, who is Smith?
Why did head coach Brian Wardle recruit him, and what can he bring to a team looking to reload after losing five of its most important players to the transfer portal or graduation?
Before Bradley
Smith began his college career at Southern Indiana and started in 32 of his 49 games in Evansville. He saw increased opportunity during his second season and played well, averaging 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and a steal per game.
Smith then entered the transfer portal and landed at James Madison for the 2024-2025 season, where he started every game and helped the Dukes secure a share of the regular-season title and advance to the Sun Belt Conference semifinals while averaging 7.3 points and 6.2 rebounds (led team).
Strengths
Smith’s biggest strengths are his motor, activity and athleticism. He utilizes these combinations of traits to become a dominant presence on the glass. Last season, he was one of 60 players in the country to post an offensive rebounding percentage above 13 and a defensive rebounding percentage of 15.
The forward was the third shortest player on the list.
His rebounding will be a massive boost for Bradley, who ranked 328th in the country in offensive rebounding, 196th in opponent offensive rebounding and 124th in offensive rebounding percentage.
Smith will also aid Bradley’s defense after losing senior Christian Davis to the transfer portal. The junior looks like he should be playing football. He is built like a middle linebacker and uses his size to wall-up opposing forwards, while also possessing the quickness to switch onto guards occasionally on the perimeter.
As a Duke, he held opponents to 33% at the rim, 27% on jump shots and 0.68 points per shot (PPS) overall. Smith is disciplined off the ball, often staying very active when helping at the nail and closes out hard on shooters. When guarding the pick and roll, Smith fights through screens and moves his feet well to stop guards from getting to the basket, or can use his athleticism to recover if he gets beat.
The forward is a play-finisher on offense. He doesn’t create much for himself or others, but he is a clever cutter, close-out attacker and can knock down a three when spotting up. Smith is adept at drawing fouls when attacking the basket or grabbing offensive rebounds. He was one of 29 wings six-foot-seven or shorter to record a free-throw rate higher than fifty percent.
Smith will be a weapon in transition for the Braves. Bradley fans will miss senior Darius Hannah’s highlight-reel dunks, but Smith will be sure to restore the excitement when he leaks out in transition, calls for an alley-oop or finishes a putback slam.
Improvement areas
Smith is a veteran, but still has areas where he can improve. The most important aspects of his game that he needs to improve are defending without fouling, finishing at the rim and knocking down threes.
Smith fouls a lot. Last season, he had 12 games with four or more fouls, which was part of the reason he played only 24 minutes per game at James Madison. The fouls, to some extent, are a symptom of his defensive activity.
Smith is involved and consistently puts forth effort in that regard, but can sometimes be too aggressive when closing out or contesting opponents. He will need to improve his discipline on defense to stay on the floor.
Despite being six-foot-six, 215 pounds and highly athletic, Smith did not finish well at the rim at James Madison or Southern Indiana. Last season, he took 63 shots at the rim in the half court and made just 46% (29-63) of them.
He particularly struggled on layups, which indicates his touch can improve. For context, the forward did grab a lot of putbacks, some of which he missed on second and third efforts that would, in turn, lower his percentage. Smith is best when he can attack mismatches, get a full head of steam going to the rim or can use his strength to finish through contact.
The junior will maximize his value if he’s able to improve as a three-point shooter. He shot 31.4% from three at James Madison on a low volume. However, there are indicators that his shot can improve if he and the coaching staff work at it.
Smith’s form looks functional, and he shot 37% (14-37) on spot-up threes. He also shoots 80% from the free-throw line, which has historically been a good indicator of future success, especially if Wardle empowers him to take the shots as he has others in the past.
Projected role
Smith has drawn comparisons to former Brave Ja’Shon Henry, who was of a similar size and was known for being a physical defender and rebounder. Smith could have more upside because he projects to be a better shooter and rebounder than Henry was during his time at Bradley.
The Braves’ newest commit will be a glue-guy. He will likely do all of the little things that don’t show up in box scores, like diving for loose balls, deterring shots at the rim, boxing out and setting solid screens.
Smith may not be the flashiest name in the portal, but his game is conducive to winning games. His game brings toughness, versatility and the kind of edge Bradley will need this year.
The silence may have lasted weeks, but if Smith’s signing is any indication of the type of players Bradley is looking for, it was well worth the wait.
