Barb Smith is in her fifth season as the associate head coach for the Golden Gopher women’s basketball program. Smith serves as the recruiting coordinator on Pam Borton’s coaching staff. She is charged with guard development and assists with the overseeing of the Gophers’ offensive efforts. Smith came to the Golden Gophers with both a wealth of coaching experience and playing experience in the Big Ten Conference.
“We are very fortunate to have Barb’s experience, passion and knowledge at Minnesota,” said Borton. “She brings stability to the program and staff and her work ethic is second to none. Her vast experience as a player in the Big Ten, as a coach in the Big Ten and the Pac-10 and her experience as a head coach is a valuable asset to myself and the players in this program.”
Smith came to Minnesota from California where she spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden Bears. In her last season with the Bears, California posted its best start to a season in 11 years and received votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls. The Pac-10 voted California head coach Caren Horstmeyer with Coach of the Year honors, an award she extended to her coaching staff.
Prior to her stint at Cal, Smith spent five seasons as the head women's basketball coach at San Diego State University. Smith's Aztec program was honored for having the athletic department's highest overall team grade point average for the 1998-99 academic year, while Smith garnered individual acclaim by being selected as the 2002 San Diego Consensus Organizer of the Year.
While at San Diego State, Smith's charges were the top-ranked defense in the Mountain West Conference every year. Smith coached her team to victories over nationally ranked opponents such as Colorado State, Kansas State, Oregon State and California during her tenure. Her 2002 recruiting class was nationally ranked as well.
Smith also spent nine seasons as Colorado's top assistant and recruiting coordinator. During her time in Boulder, she helped build the Buffaloes into one of the nation's top programs, with the team averaging more than 24 wins a season from 1988-97. Colorado became a familiar fixture in the NCAA Tournament during Smith's tenure, earning eight bids to the tournament, while advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 1993 and 1995. Colorado also was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 campaigns.
Smith developed a reputation as an outstanding recruiter while at Colorado. In her last four years at CU, three of the school's recruiting classes were ranked in the top 10 nationally, which included the third-best class in 1996.
|
