COLLEGE BASKETBALL: FEB 04 Minnesota at Illinois

Edwardsville (Ill.) High School guard Mark Smith, seen here at a basketball game at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, on Feb. 4, 2017, took an official visit to Michigan State last weekend.

(Michael Allio | AP Image)

In the fall of 2016, early in his senior year at Edwardsville (Ill.) High School, Mark Smith took three official visits to Northern Illinois, Wright State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Each school offered Smith a basketball scholarship and agreed to accommodate his desire to also play baseball. At the time, he'd previously been committed to play baseball at Missouri, having accepted a scholarship offer in December 2015, during the middle of his junior year. Smith and his family backed away from that pledge the following summer after staff turnover at Missouri.

So there was Smith, in September 2016, taking official visits to schools from the MAC, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Horizon League. He had played well in AAU basketball that summer and was drawing more and more interest.

He couldn't have possibly known what sat ahead.

This past weekend, Smith took an official visit to Michigan State, wooed by Tom Izzo and his staff to campus. Smith is now one of the top remaining unsigned 2017 point guards in the country. He's a major commodity in the college basketball marketplace.

"It's been kind of crazy," his mother, Yvonne Smith, told MLive.

Still in need of backcourt help for 2017-18, Michigan State has found itself immersed in one of the more unconventional recruitments you'll come across.

Smith, who previously thought he'd be drafted out of high school as a baseball player, is now pondering basketball scholarships from MSU, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Butler, Kansas State, Ohio State and Northwestern, among others.

Having won Illinois Mr. Basketball honors this past season, Smith is due to play in this weekend's highly-regarded Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

Following that all-star game, Smith will schedule his fifth official visit. According to his mother, he'll travel to either Kentucky or Ohio State. Whichever school he does not visit officially, he'll take an unofficial visit to.

Then, soon after, Smith will make his decision. There's no set decision date, but it will come during college basketball's late signing period, which runs from April 12 to May 17.

In a recruitment with many moving pieces, the pieces are indeed still moving.

As for Michigan State's pitch ...

"They talked about team bonding -- being a team is very important," Yvonne Smith said. "It was a family-like atmosphere. I think that was really nice."

The Spartans are losing veteran backcourt members Eron Harris and Alvin Ellis III from last year's roster. Holding at least two open scholarships for next season, Izzo needs to address depth at the guard position.

Smith averaged 21.9 points, 8.4 assists and 8.2 rebounds as a senior at Edwardsville, leading his team to 30-2 record. Hardly known in high-major circles a year ago, he's now ranked No. 92 overall among 2017 recruits and as the No. 20 point guard in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

As of today the only guards on Izzo's 2017-18 roster are senior Tum Tum Nairn, junior Matt McQuaid and sophomores Josh Langford and Cassius Winston.

"I think (the coaches) were very confident that Mark is going to come in and play," Yvonne Smith said. "They didn't harp on that, but they made it clear that he's going to come in and play."

Wherever he goes, Smith's winding path will end with basketball, not baseball, which will be bittersweet.

At 15 years old, Smith was nearly 6-foot-4 and throwing 90-to-91 miles-per-hour from the mound. He was recruited by Missouri, Missouri State, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Ole Miss and Illinois State before he ever pitched a varsity high school game.

When Smith and his parents accepted the scholarship from Mizzou in December 2015, they did so while fully expecting the 2017 MLB Draft to be his actual destination.

That's why, despite being Edwardsville High's second-leading scorer as a sophomore, Smith never actually practiced basketball in the summer.

"Mainly, that's what he did -- just baseball," Yvonne Smith said. "At the time, he was projected as having a very high ceiling, as far as being a pitcher. He really thought, 'Man, I have a chance to get drafted out of high school.'"

Yvonne Smith was disappointed when Mark committed to Missouri to only play baseball. She wanted him at a school that would allow him to play both. Yvonne and her husband, Anthony, both played basketball at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and saw the potential.

In the summer of 2016, a nagging arm injury emerged. At the same time, Missouri head baseball coach Tim Jamieson resigned. Amid that confluence, Smith's eyes drifted over to the hardwood.

"He decided that he needed to go play basketball because I think he was getting kind of depressed because his arm wasn't healing," Yvonne Smith said.

By September 2016, as Mark Smith lined up those official visits to Northern Illinois, Wright State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, the mid-major basketball scholarship offers were gradually building.

Smith grew his stock over his senior year, resisting the urge to commit to a new school. The interest continued to build. Over the course of the season, Smith took unofficial visits to the likes of Indiana, Illinois and Northwestern.

Now that decision time is approaching, though, there are layers upon layers to every option Smith has.

Take Missouri, for example.

Follow along: Mizzou basketball coach Kim Anderson extended a scholarship offer last season, after Smith decommitted from Missouri baseball. Five weeks ago, however, Anderson was fired and replaced by Cuonzo Martin, who previously recruited Smith while working as head coach at Cal-Berkeley. Martin offered Smith a scholarship to Cal in February. Now, those ties have spliced.

"Since (Martin) got hired at Mizzou, yes, he's been very heavily active with Mark," Yvonne Smith said.

Martin was active with others, too, though. Missouri landed a commitment from top-150 point guard Blake Harris last weekend (an MSU recruit), and also holds a National Letter of Intent from 2017 point guard C.J. Roberts. Is there still a reasonable spot for Smith?

Also, consider Illinois, the home-state option.

Smith was recruited by John Groce and visited Champaign for a game against Minnesota in February. After Groce was fired on March 11, new Illinois coach Brad Underwood retained assistant Jamal Walker in part for his relationship with existing recruits. Smith is one of those recruits. Is he still considering staying close to home?

And, of course, consider Kentucky, one of the largest layers. John Calipari extended an offer on April 6. In college basketball circles, Kentucky scholarships are seen on par with Wonka's golden tickets. Is Smith willing to turn the Calipari down? The decision may have been made more difficult on Tuesday when top-100 guard Jemarl Baker committed to the Cats.

And there are the others. Northwestern and Kansas State are still in contact. On Sunday night, Ohio State coaches visited the Smith household to make another pitch.

The list, and the layers, go on.

Among them: Michigan State.

"There are a lot of things he likes about Michigan State," Yvonne Smith said. "There are a lot of things he likes about the other schools. He has a list of what he likes and dislikes. I think that Mark will make a wise choice."

And when he does, one unconventional recruitment will find its conclusion.