FAYETTEVILLE — On his first day of high school at St. Paul IV Catholic, Jordan Smith Jr.'s father had a simple message for the future Arkansas basketball point guard.

"If you want to play, you got to be able to guard," Smith said. "Do it at a high level. Make all the dirty plays."

Throughout Smith's upbringing on a basketball court, he was taught that defense wins championships. His on-ball tenacity is a big reason why Smith is widely projected as a top-3 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft. He hopes it plays a major role as the Razorbacks chase trophies in Year 3 under John Calipari.

The Arkansas season begins in less than two weeks, and Smith's already left a lasting impression on his teammates before playing an official minute of college hoops.

The Hogs hosted a mini media day on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Southwest Times Record asked many of Smith's teammates a simple question: What stands out about Smith's game?

The defense was a common denominator.

"He's a dog and a great teammate because you know he's going to put in the work when we don't have the ball," Cooper Bowser said. "It's been fun watching him straight-up guard people. We all trust him to stop his man."

Russian big man Ilia Frolov said he's most-impressed Smith's rare combination of speed and length at the point-guard position. The 6-foot-2 guard has a reported wingspan of 6-foot-9.

Combining the athleticism and size with excellent energy has made Smith a nightmare matchup in practice.

"How much intensity he brings to both ends of the court, he doesn't take a play off, at all," freshman JJ Andrews said.

Andrews also credited Smith's leadership from the point-guard position. Ironically, that's one of the areas Smith said he is most focused on improving this season. At St. Paul Catholic, he often played as an off-ball guard, so Smith admits he is still learning the leadership roles that come with being the floor general.

But offensive development is a big reason why Smith came to Arkansas. He saw Darius Acuff Jr. have one of the best seasons by a point guard in the history of the SEC last year. Smith trusts Calipari to maximize that part of his own game.

One of his more experienced teammates who has been through the wars of an SEC schedule already see some qualities that they expect to immediately translate into the college game.

"He can slow the game down," junior Billy Richmond III said. "You could see it from the first day he came, playing at his own pace. When the defenders try to speed him up, they really can't."

In his first action wearing an Arkansas' uniform, Smith averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 3 steals, 0.8 turnovers during a four-game tour at The Bahamas. He shot 48.1% from the field and 36.4% on 3-pointers. His next appearance will be Saturday, Oct. 24, when the Hogs host Gonzaga in a preseason exhibition.

Calipari expects a similar all-around impact throughout the season.

"(Smith) stuffs the stat sheet," Calipari said. "He's been in the gym, he's taken 3,000 shots a day, maybe more, for his arc. He shot it a little flat. Now you're watching him, and all the scouts came in and said, 'we seethe improvement, we see what he did'. They've been watching. He's that good."