On Wednesday morning, Texas Tech freshman phenom guard Zhaire Smith declared for the NBA Draft, deciding to test the waters and see if the league deems him ready to become the Red Raiders' first one-and-done player in school history.

So, now that Smith has declared, what does his path to the NBA - or back to Lubbock - look like from here?

Let's take a closer look.

Simply put: Smith's throwing his hat into the ring to see what the NBA thinks of him. He'll get loads of feedback from scouts, front offices, and his own experience competing in the NBA Draft Combine against other pro prospects over the next few months to see where he fits into the 2018 NBA Draft puzzle.

The most important aspect to remember before we go any further is that Smith has declared for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent. This is important, because it means that the DFW native still has the option to return to Texas Tech for his sophomore season should he so choose.

Without hiring an agent, Smith is still considered an amateur and remains eligible to compete in college basketball. The second he hires an agent, however, he's no longer an amateur and cannot return to college.

For now, Smith is obviously still an amateur. What he decides to do based on his experience and feedback throughout the draft process will determine whether that remains the case.

April 22nd - NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline: This is the last day that college players who are not seniors can declare themselves eligible for the NBA Draft. Since Smith's already gone on and declared, this date is now irrelevant.

May 16th-20th - NBA Draft Combine: Much like the NFL Combine, this is where Smith and many other draft prospects will be measured, interview, and compete in drills in front of scouts, front offices, and media.

June 11th - NBA Draft Early Entrant Withdrawal Deadline (4 p.m. CT): Should Smith decide to come back to Texas Tech for his sophomore season, this is the date he must decide to withdraw from the NBA Draft by. Again, he cannot hire an agent if he wants to return to school.

Now he'll start training for the NBA Draft Combine in May. He has essentially a month and a half to get ready, which he'll likely still do in Lubbock since he did not hire an agent and could come back to Tech. He'll need to stay in school and finish out this semester's classwork in order to stay academically eligible because of that.

Roughly 60 players are invited to the NBA Combine every year, and Smith is almost certainly going to be among those invited to participate.

Much like with the NFL Combine, prospects will get a ton of measurements taken at the NBA Combine. Those include familiar measurements like vertical, bench press, height, weight, and wing span, but there are also NBA-specific combine measurements, such as dividing the vertical into standing vert and maximum vert, lane agility time, three-quarter court sprint time, and others.

At the NBA Combine, Smith will be microscoped as a shooter. The NBA runs their prospects through a ton of shooting tests, including three point shooting from various depths and positions around the perimeter, off-dribble shooting, timed jump shots, and more.

In addition, prospects will also go through five-on-five drills so scouts can get a good look at them competing on the court in person.

This is also where teams will conduct interviews with prospects, trying to find out what makes each ballplayer tick. Each team is limited to 18 interviews at the NBA Draft Combine.

STRENGTHS: Smith is an athletic anomaly. You would be extremely hard pressed to find someone with the jumping ability and body control that this young Red Raider possesses. He lives above the rim on both ends of the court, and he can twist and contort his body through the air in jaw-dropping fashion. Because of this, he's a cleanup machine on the offensive glass that will get rebounds and putbacks at an extremely high rate. In addition, Smith takes care of the basketball and has a fantastic sense for offensive flow and spacing. He's continuing to bloom as a passer and smart decision-maker on that end of the court. The freshman's biggest calling card, however, is as a versatile, heady defender. He has a fantastic basketball IQ for a player his age, and you can use him to defend almost any position on-ball.

WEAKNESSES: While Smith grew as a shooter as the year went on and shot a great 45 percent beyond the arc, his shot must continue to develop. If he's to be an effective offensive weapon at the NBA level, he's got to shoot it a lot more moving forward. On top of that, he needs to become a better off-dribble creator and driver to the basket. Smith's offensive game has to evolve in a major way to become a consistent threat with the ball in his hands as a professional.

It's the million dollar question, one we'll find an answer to over the next two months. As of right now, Smith can be found littered throughout the back half of the first round in almost every mock draft out there, something that certainly shouldn't be taken lightly.

Smith's spotlight performance on the biggest stage in the NCAA Tournament turned heads as he found himself front and center in a number of viral highlights on both ends of the floor. Those big moments on the biggest stage certainly caught the attention of a whole lot of NBA experts.

However, the opinions of writers and online draft aficionados should not be taken as NBA Draft gospel, as scouts and GMs might have a different opinion of the freshman's production and potential.

My prediction? If Smith is all but guaranteed a first round slotting after the combine, he leaves. If the waters are murky and there's some thought that he can slip into the second round, he returns to Lubbock.

It will certainly be an intriguing process to follow.