Nevada Smith (basketball)

Last updated

Nevada Smith
Current position
TitleAssistant Coach
Team Marquette
Conference Big East Conference
Biographical details
Born (1981-06-20) June 20, 1981 (age 44)
Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma mater Bethany College (West Virginia)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002–2004 St. Lawrence (assistant)
2004–2005 SUNY Canton
2005–2006 Allegheny (assistant)
2006–2011 Ithaca (assistant)
2011–2013 Keystone
2013–2015 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2016–2019 Sioux Falls Skyforce
2023-presentMarquette (assistant)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2020-2021 Texas (Director of Program Development)
2021-2023Marquette (Special Assistant to the Head Coach)

Nevada Smith (born June 20, 1981) is an American college basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at Marquette University. He has previously held coaching positions at the collegiate and professional levels.

Contents

Career

Smith played collegiately at Bethany College, scoring 1,255 points during his four-year tenure (1998–2002), good for a fifth place on the school's all-time scoring list. As a junior, he ranked first in the nation in three-pointers per game, he hit a total of 313 shots from long range during his college career, which ranked him 13th among all NCAA Division 3 players. [1] After graduating with a degree in sports management from Bethany College in 2002, he pursued a master's degree, which he earned from St. Lawrence University in 2004. [2]

He served as assistant coach at St. Lawrence from 2002 to 2004 and was named head coach at State University of New York at Canton for the 2004–05 campaign. In 2005–06, Smith was an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach at Allegheny College. From 2006 to 2011, he served as assistant coach at Ithaca College [3] and took over the head coaching job at Keystone College in 2011. [1]

He left Keystone for the NBA D-League in 2013, taking over as head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. [4] During his two-year tenure, he guided the Vipers to a 57–43 record. [2]

In 2016, Smith returned as a head coach of another D-League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. [5] He spent three seasons with the Miami Heat's affiliate, earning a 78–72 record and no playoff appearances. [6]

In September 2020, Smith was named Director of Program Development for the Texas Longhorns. [7]

When Texas head coach Shaka Smart took the head coaching position at Marquette University, Smith followed. He served as Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Marquette for two years before being named a full-time assistant coach in 2023. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Keystone tabs Nevada Smith for basketball post". Keystone College. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Basketball Operations - Sioux Falls Skyforce". Sioux Falls Skyforce. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  3. "Ithaca College Athletics". athletics.ithaca.edu. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  4. "Rio Grande Valley Vipers hire Nevada Smith to be the next head coach". Space City Scoop. October 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  5. "Nevada Smith Named Skyforce Head Coach | Miami Heat". Miami Heat. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  6. "Heat announces promotions for Adam Simon, Eric Glass, Eric Amsler. Glass to coach Skyforce". Miami Herald . July 26, 2019.
  7. Eberts, Wescott (September 28, 2020). "Texas basketball announces support staff hires". Burnt Orange Nation. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. "Nevada Smith - Men's Basketball Coach". Marquette University Athletics. Retrieved November 11, 2023.