Keith Smart

This article is about the American basketball player and coach. For the American fencer, see Keeth Smart.

Keith Smart

Smart as head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2011
Arkansas Razorbacks
Position	Assistant coach
League	Southeastern Conference
Personal information
Born	(1964-09-21) September 21, 1964 (age 59) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	McKinley (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
College	Garden City CC (1984–1986) Indiana (1986–1988)
NBA draft	1988: 2nd round, 41st overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career	1988–1997
Position	Point guard
Number	3
Coaching career	1997–present
Career history
As player:
1988	San Antonio Spurs
1989	San Miguel Beermen
1989	Worcester Counts
1990	Youngstown Pride
1991	Halifax Windjammers
1993	Bravo de Lara
1994	Cambrais Basket
1995	Trotamundos de Carabobo
1995–1996	Florida Beachdogs
1996–1997	Fort Wayne Fury
As coach:
1997–2000	Fort Wayne Fury
2000–2003	Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)
2003	Cleveland Cavaliers
2003–2010	Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2010–2011	Golden State Warriors
2011–2012	Sacramento Kings (assistant)
2011–2013	Sacramento Kings
2014–2016	Miami Heat (assistant)
2016–2018	Memphis Grizzlies (assistant)
2018–2019	New York Knicks (assistant)
2021–present	Arkansas (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player: WBL champion (1990) NCAA champion (1987) NCAA final Four Most Outstanding Player (1987)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Pan American Games 1987 Indianapolis Team competition

Jonathan Keith Smart (born September 21, 1964) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player.

Playing career

He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indiana Hoosiers a 74–73 victory over the Syracuse Orangemen.^[1] He had transferred to Indiana from Garden City Community College in Kansas where he was a two-year standout and Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year.^[2]

After two seasons at Indiana, Smart was signed by the San Antonio Spurs, with whom he played two games in the 1988–89 season. In 12 minutes, Smart scored two points and had two assists and one rebound. Smart later played in the Philippines, with the San Miguel Beermen of the PBA, in the 1989 Reinforced Conference, where he played through an injury and was eventually replaced by Ennis Whatley after only five games.^[3] After the PBA, he played in the World Basketball League: first with the Worcester Counts in 1989.^[4] He then played for the Youngstown Pride and was traded to the Halifax Windjammers in March 1991.^[5] Smart later played in the Continental Basketball Association with the Rapid City Thrillers (1995–96) and Fort Wayne Fury (1996–97).^[6] He also played two seasons in France, and one in Venezuela.^[2]

Coaching career

In 2002, Smart finished the season as interim coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. His record was 9–31 with the club. In 2003, he became an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.

In 2010, Smart took over for Golden State Warriors head coach Don Nelson before the start of the 2010-11 training camp.^[7]

The Warriors fired Smart on April 27, 2011 following a 36 win season, a 10-game improvement from the previous season.^[8][9] He joined the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach in November 2011.^[10] On January 5, 2012, the Kings named Smart head coach after firing Paul Westphal.^[11] He recorded a 48–93 record over parts of two seasons with the team. On May 31, 2013, the Kings fired Smart with one year remaining on his contract.^[12][13] On September 17, 2014, the Miami Heat announced they had hired Smart as an assistant coach.

On December 6, 2019, Smart was fired by the New York Knicks.^[14]

On May 12, 2021, Smart was announced as Assistant Coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks under Head Coach Eric Musselman.^[15] On January 15, 2022, Smart served one game as the Arkansas interim coach while Musselman was out with shoulder surgery. Smart led the unranked Razorbacks to a thrilling 65-58 victory over No. 12 LSU in Baton Rouge.^[16]

Personal life

Smart and his wife Carol have two children.^[17] His son Jared is currently a wide receiver for the University of Hawaii.^[18]

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Cleveland	2002–03	40	9	31	.225	8th in Central	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Golden State	2010–11	82	36	46	.439	3rd in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Sacramento	2011–12	59	20	39	.339	5th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Sacramento	2012–13	82	28	54	.341	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Career		263	93	170	.354	—	—	—	—

See also

•  Sports portal

Notes

1. Keith Smart's last-gasp basket propelled Indiana to a - 04.06.87 - SI Vault
2. "Keith Smart". NBA. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
3. "Grand-slam Beermen roll out barrel". Philippine Daily Inquirer. December 9, 2010. p. W-9.
4. Yantz, Tom (August 5, 1989). "World Basketball League Provides Players a Possible Shortcut to NBA". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
5. "Transactions". Baltimore Sun. March 21, 1991. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
6. Lebowitz, Larry (November 15, 1996). "Beachdogs A Team On The Move". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
7. "Smart seeks to add defensive mindset to Warriors' rapid pace". NBA.com. September 27, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
8. https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AvScJY9DZKcTtyPhYb9tVHo5nYcB?slug=ap-warriors-smartout ^{[dead link]}
9. "Smart gets another shot, this time as Kings coach". Associated Press. January 6, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012.
10. Keith Smart, Bobby Jackson join Kings
11. "Sacramento Kings fire Paul Westphal". espn.com. January 5, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
12. "Sale of Kings officially done". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
13. "KEITH SMART RELIEVED OF HEAD COACHING DUTIES". NBA.com. May 31, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
14. "New York Knicks fire David Fizdale and Keith Smart, promote Mike Miller to interim head coach". December 6, 2019.
15. "Keith Smart Joins Men's Basketball Staff". May 12, 2021.
16. "Arkansas stuns No. 12 LSU without coach Eric Musselman as Razorbacks rally late to get big road upset". January 16, 2022.
17. Winderman, Ira (January 11, 2016). "Heat assistant coach Keith Smart returns from rare skin cancer". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
18. "'Never in doubt', Years of hard work has led Jared Smart to Hawai'i to live out his college football dream". KHON2 News. August 15, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2020.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com
• BasketballReference.com: Keith Smart (as coach)