Carleton U’s Dave Smart Leaves For Texas Tech
The end of an era at Carleton University.
The winningest coach in the history of Canadian basketball has left for Texas Tech.
Basketball in Ottawa will never be the same:
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Ouch. He will be missed. Carleton’s loss is Texas Tech gain.
So the work he did with Carleton should carry the Ravens through one, maybe two seasons. After that, we’ll find out how much of their success was him. I wonder if they’ll lose players now and in the future. A lot of kids came to play at Carleton because of Dave Smart – will they stay?
The Voter:
I go to the games.
What Smart achieved at Carleton is nothing short of a miracle.
He gave Carleton an opportunity to see what excellence is all about and he helped pull that university out of the doldrums.
As the Red Raiders release said, Smart is one of the best coaches in all of basketball. You can’t replace that.
But he’s more than that. What he performed with little budget and puny scholarships in a Canadian university in the middle of basketball nowhere is nothing short of a miracle.
NCAA teams would come in here (the Ravens Nest holds about 1,500 people, the Red Raiders’ arena 15,000) and get their posteriors handed to them on a platter. One season the Ravens beat Wisconsin by 19 points. Wisconsin went on to the NCAA Final Four. Duke famously dodged playing the Ravens when Smart had one of his best teams ever. And Duke had one of their best teams ever. That Duke dodged them on a Canadian tour was the biggest basketball story in the U.S. that summer. No one said a word about it in Canada.
South Dakota came in here after going a long way in March Madness. The Ravens beat them by 50 points twice.
Smart took a nothing program with no money and the best Canadian players in the U.S. and beat the best the NCAA could offer. He has produced players that dominate in Europe. You could go the states with a big scholarship and programs with millions of dollars and that would be the end of your career. With Dave, if you wanted to learn to play basketball, you came to Carleton.
He would get his players jobs in Europe because the Europeans respected Smart and knew he would send them well-schooled athletes. He stocked the national team with his charges.
He might be the best defensive coach in basketball and one of the best, if not the best, anywhere. U.S. coaches would come to Carleton to learn his defensive system.
He’s probably assistant coach at Texas Tech because he doesn’t want to recruit. He loves to coach. He’s one of the best at it. Watch Tech become a power in the NCAA. Watch great Canadian youngsters attend Texas Tech.
Smart has provided me with many, many years of entertainment for $11 a pop. In the states to watch division one b-ball in the seats I have, it would cost thousands. The best value in sports anywhere.
You don’t replace Dave Smart. When I heard the news last night, I was happy for Dave but sad for Carleton and Ottawa basketball.
He left Carleton after both his women’s and men’s teams won national championships. What a way to leave.
Can’t say enough.
cheers
kgray