John Smith (basketball coach)

John D. Smith[1] (born March 12, 1969) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team.[2][3]

John Smith
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamCal Poly
ConferenceBig West
Record10–34 (.227)
Biographical details
Born (1969-03-12) March 12, 1969
Riverside, California
Playing career
1987–1989UNLV
1992–1994Dominican
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2004San Bernardino Valley College
2004–2013Riverside CC
2013–2019Cal State Fullerton (assistant)
2019–presentCal Poly
Head coaching record
Overall10–34 (.227)

Playing career

A standout at John W. North High School, Smith originally began his college basketball career at UNLV under Jerry Tarkanian, who coached Smith's father, Fred "Lucky" Smith, while he was the head coach at Riverside City College.[4][5][6] Smith would finish his playing career at Dominican where he played for his brother Steve, and was a NAIA All-California honorable mention and all-conference selection.[3]

Coaching career

Smith's coaching career included stops at the College of Southern Idaho and Chaffey College as well as the high school ranks at his alma mater J.W. North, and Valley View High School as an assistant coach. In 2000, Smith was hired was the head coach and assistant athletic director at San Bernardino Valley College. He would guide the team to an 88–40 record in four seasons, including a Foothill Conference championship during the 2002–03 season.[7] In 2004, Smith accepted the head coaching position at Riverside City College where he went 196–87 with four conference championships including the 2009 California State Championship, the school's first in 43 years since when Jerry Tarkanian was coaching.[5]

Smith accepted the position of assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton under Dedrique Taylor in 2013.[8] He would stay on staff for six seasons and was part of the Titans' Big West Conference Tournament-winning squad and 2018 NCAA Tournament appearance.[9]

On March 28, 2019 Smith was named the head coach at Cal Poly, replacing Joe Callero.[2][10]

Personal life

Smith's son Jamal currently plays for Cal State Fullerton, while his daughter Kianna plays basketball at California.[11][12] His father "Lucky" also played college basketball at Utah State and Hawaii, and was a sixth round selection of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1968 NBA Draft.[13][14][15]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Cal Poly (Big West) (2019–present)
2019–20 Cal Poly 7–234–129th
2020–21 Cal Poly 3-111-7
Cal Poly: 10–34 (.227)5–19 (.208)
Total:10–34 (.227)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "John D Smith was born on March 12, 1969 in Riverside County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  2. "John Smith Named Cal Poly Men's Basketball Head Coach". Cal Poly. 28 March 2019.
  3. "John Smith". Cal Poly.
  4. "John Smith College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  5. "AREA COLLEGES: Former RCC coach Smith named to Hall of Fame". 23 February 2016.
  6. "Riverside City College Athletics". Riverside City College Athletics.
  7. "San Bernardino Valley College Athletics". San Bernardino Valley College Athletics.
  8. "BASKETBALL: A conversation with departing RCC coach John Smith". 19 April 2013.
  9. "Cal State Fullerton Athletics". Cal State Fullerton Athletics.
  10. "Cal Poly hire Cal State Fullerton's John Smith as men's basketball coach". 28 March 2019.
  11. "Running In The Family". University of California Golden Bears Athletics.
  12. "John and Jamal Smith continue basketball bond with Titans". 21 November 2016.
  13. "Fred Lucky Smith College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  14. Jares, Joe. "THE PIED PIPER FROM PASADENA". Vault.
  15. "Fred Smith Player Profile, Hawaii, NCAA Stats, Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.


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