Marcus Smart and
Phil Forte won a state title as juniors at
Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) and have helped Texas Assault win back-to-back age group titles at the adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas.
Following their highly-anticipated senior season at the suburban Dallas-Fort Worth school, the duo will continue their winning partnership at Oklahoma State.
Marcus High School assistant coach Kenny Brunner confirmed that Smart and Forte committed to the Cowboys late Friday night, giving head coach Travis Ford one of his biggest recruiting coups since arriving at OSU in 2008.
In addition to being teammates, the two are close friends with ties that go back to the third grade. Though they attempted to keep their recruitments separate, the thought of continuing to play basketball together was ever-present.
"They started out together in the third grade and didn't want it to end," Brunner said of their plans to remain a backcourt tandem. "They really are like brothers and weren't going to leave each other. That kind of brought it down to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma as far as teams that were in the mix for both."
Smart, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard, is a consensus five-star prospect and ranked No. 11 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100. He earned All-American honors as a junior, averaging 14 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game for the 39-1 Marauders. At the adidas Super 64 in July, he piled up 29 points and 19 rebounds in the final to make tournament MVP honors a no-brainer – even with top-ranked prospect Shabazz Muhammad in the running.
"He is one of the best competitors in America," Texas Assault coach Rick Roberts said of Smart in July. "He has heart that you can't measure. As long as you have him on any team, you got a chance to win the game."
Smart was being pursued by the likes of North Carolina and Kansas, in addition to the Cowboys.
Phil Forte
Photo by Jim Redman
Forte, a 5-10, 175-pound sharpshooter, led Marcus in scoring during its state championship run at over 16 points per game. His long-distance exploits became the stuff of legend in Las Vegas over the summer as it was reported he connected on 23 of 30 3-point attempts during one four-game span at the adidas Super 64.
Boise State, Kansas, Kansas State and Texas Tech were among other suitors for Forte's services.
"It's my understanding that they made personal phone calls to the coaches from other programs that recruited them before they released their decision, even to their friends," Brunner said. "I think that's a classy move by them. They appreciated the time that the coaches put into their recruitment."
With Smart and Forte together in the backcourt, Marcus has compiled a 76-4 record over the past two seasons with back-to-back trips to Texas' version of the Final Four in Austin.
A third Marcus senior is also committed to a Division I school. Six-foot-eight wing-forward
Nick Banyard made a verbal pledge to New Mexico last week.
Smart and Forte join Brooklyn product
Kamari Murphy and Kentucky guard
Adam Wing in Oklahoma State's 2012 recruiting class.
