University of Memphis Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- 901-678-2346
Smith begins his second season as assistant coach with the Memphis Tigers after spending the previous three seasons at Texas Tech as the director of video production and team video coordinator.
While working with the Red Raiders he assisted the staff in breaking down game and practice video along with statistical metrics.
This season will mark his 11th season as an assistant coach, including six seasons at Minnesota. He oversaw the Golden Gophers’ guard development and ball handling improvement. He developed five players who would end their Minnesota careers on the program’s 1,000-point scoring list.
Prior to coming to Minneapolis, Smith served as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech from 2004-07. He was involved in all phases of the program, including player development, recruiting, organization, on-floor coaching, and academics. When head coach Mike Sutton was stricken with Guillian-Barre Syndrome, Smith assisted associate head coach Steve Payne with guiding the Golden Eagles to two of the most successful seasons in school history. In his three seasons at Tennessee Tech, the team never finished below third place in the conference, including a league championship in 2004-05.
Smith lettered four years at Kentucky and started at point guard for the Wildcats in each of his final two seasons. He was part of winning three SEC Championships, three SEC Tournament titles, and one NCAA National Championship. He also captained an SEC All-Star team that went 4-1 vs. the Japanese Olympic team.
He ranks 10th all-time in Kentucky basketball history with 363 assists. He led the Wildcats in assists during both the 1999-00 and the 2000-01 seasons, and in steals with 51 during the 2000-01 season. He played in 143 games during his Wildcat career, starting 70 times.
After his Kentucky career, Smith was invited to the Houston Rockets’ summer camp, before spending two years playing for the NBDL’s Columbus Riverdragons. He also spent the 2003-04 season on the Kentucky coaching staff while completing his bachelor’s degree in economics.
Smith graduated from Kentucky in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
