Catching up with the newest coach
June 9th, 2008, 1:26 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Mark Heller
A point guard and three-year captain at San Diego in the late 1990s, Lamont Smith is house-hunting in the East Valley after two years in St. Louis, six years at St. Mary’s and a year at Santa Clara.
Lamont Smith sells college basketball programs to high schoolers, not housing.
Smith was pegged by Arizona State coach Herb Sendek after Mark Phelps got his first head coaching job at Drake.
For now, Smith is living out of a hotel near campus while he and his wife, Kim, peruse the Chandler/Tempe real estate market for a home.
“It’s mostly my wife,” he said. “I’m a guy. We’re not too picky.”
He’s also shuttling back and forth between Phoenix and the Bay Area to tie up loose ends and see friends before the recruiting roads are paved in July.
Smith was the top assistant at Santa Clara last season, and was at St. Mary’s under Randy Bennett for six years after the two worked together at St. Louis under current Washington coach Lorenzo Romar.
Bennett brought Smith out west in 2001 and took over a Gaels team that was 2-27 with an RPI of 363 the year before.
“Not to mention we walked into a facility with no money and had to be creative to get what we wanted to get accomplished,” Smith said. “It was how to be creative and make things work without resources.”
They did, as four years later the Gaels had a school-record 25 wins and were back in the NCAA tournament.
By then, mutual friends had introduced Smith and Sendek. Smith interviewed at ASU 2 1/2 years ago to be an assistant, a job which eventually went to Dedrique Taylor. Smith stayed in touch and heard Sendek had interest again this spring.
This time, no interview was necessary.
“He wanted to have a well-rounded coach, not just a recruiter or X-and-O guy,” Smith said.
He hasn’t met Eric Boateng and only had phone conversations with incoming freshman Johnny Coy. Since coaches are prohibited from working with players this time of year, Smith hasn’t seen any Sun Devils play, but he knows ASU isn’t St. Mary’s circa 2001.