That would be the first step toward really winning over a lot of fans who don’t really know who he is (like me).
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FWIW.
Even if AJ was plan A with a 50% chance, checking on him and JB might have been somewhat strategic to pacify boosters and maybe lower the temperature on expectations. But with the speed, they were either talking or Craig was so eager to ‘win the lottery’ after a bad week.
Smith can recruit UW’s team. They have 5 in the portal. We could call ourselves the Huskies. Pitch them that they can play man defense, forget the zone.
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Not about Smith per se - who may be terrific - but is this episode an indication of just how low this program has sunk?
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I’m excited about Smith.
I have a friend who used to work in the USU athletic Dept. My friend says that Smith is really obviously a “next level” coach who understands the college game and (maybe more importantly) college kids. Smith may not be a home run, but - as Sancho pointed out earlier - nobody is. Let’s wait and see.
What we know now is that Smith is a solid coach with a lot of potential. Let’s see if he can build on Larry’s foundation.
Maybe Smith can start by designing an in-bound play with 15 seconds remaining that results in a shot attempt.
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Agreed.
PVD’s UCLA miracle is a great great moment. That entire 2 or 3 final minutes was magical.
I think it’s quite plausible Harlan had multiple irons in the fire. I would have been disappointed if he didn’t.
AJ & JB had some risk because they’re deep in the NBA and the recruiting aspect of the college game alone makes it a high risk for them.
At 48, Smith is just 4 years older than Alex. (Times flies, huh?)
I’ll hope he can hang onto most of the current roster & recruit like a maniac, then we’ll see. Hopefully he can have some success and they we can worry about if he’ll take off for a bigger job. That would my ideal worry in 3 years.
Welcome, Coach Smith!
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As was Utah’s comeback viz. Plummer in Boulder against CU.
I laughed sadly at this one.
It may well be that Harlan is being much more clever about this than we give him credit for. By starting off with AJ, he was taking a bit of a longshot. (It’s no accident that the information about AJ got out.) Now Harlan does not have to face this question from fans for the next few years: “Why didn’t we go after Alex Jensen?”
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+1.
I am starting to feel better about Craig Smith. There are signs that he knew how to overachieve at a small, out of the way mid-major. A low mid-major at that. He failed in the big dance because he simply didn’t have the talent to move forward, it seems to me. Maybe in a P6, PAC-12 job he can work a few small wonders. I’ll bet that is why he is probably celebrating this morning, that’s all that knowledgeable Ute fans really hope for, when you think about it.
Nice. We now have two reasons to regard Harlan as very competent. This has been my wish for a year, since Utah State beat San Diego State last game of 2019. I doubted it was possible because bigger programs would want him. Now my only concern is that Groucho Marx quote that goes something like, Why us?
Swish! hire. Basketball’s first since Majerus.
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I thought of you and the “swish” that you would say this is. I think it is indeed a swish. I also think that back in the day, many of us thought Larry was a swish as well, especially after the Wright/Poeltl seasons. College basketball is such an interesting and unpredictable creature.
This is interesting–and encouraging.
Utah – Craig Smith
Grade: A+
Larry Krystkowiak rebuilt the Utes into a stable program in annual contention for Pac-12 titles and NCAA Tournament bids but never got over the hump. He went 45-42 (26-29, Pac-12) over the last three years.
A disciple of Tim Miles, Craig Smith is a former lower-division coach who rebuilt South Dakota and went 74-23 in three seasons at Utah State. He’s done well identifying lower-ranked recruits and built one of the nation’s best defensive teams. Rumored to be a potential candidate Minnesota, the 48-year-old Minnesota native signed an extension at Utah State just four weeks ago.
Prediction: Smith will win a Pac-12 Championship and reach (at least) the Elite Eight within five years at Utah. This will prove to be one of the best hires in college basketball this decade.
I hope this happens, and I look forward to dealing with an insufferable @SeattleUte in that event.
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I appreciate how Harlan was able to get this wrapped up quickly.
Definitely wasn’t looking forward to a few more days of feeling crappy about having a couple of valued alumni say “no thanks”.
The narrative changed quickly, for the positive.
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10 posts were merged into an existing topic: The Craig Smith era begins
Sweet. I’m pumped. Not Eric Musselman pumped, but still pumped!
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