The trial for Jeroid Price, 23, is set to begin Monday and should last about a week.
Authorities say Smalls, 22, was killed in what authorities called a gang-related shooting at a Columbia club last December.
Smalls had been at a party at the club, hosted by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, deputies said.
Price's lawyer, Cam Littlejohn of Columbia, would not discuss details of the case last week.
"You're going to hear a lot of conflicting and confusing versions about gang activity that night," Littlejohn said.
A second man, Ryan Brooks, 20, also is charged with murder. His trial date has not been set.
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