Pac-12 Basketball: Ranking all 12 head coaches for 2019-20 season

By Joey Loose | Sep 27, 2019

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 16: Matisse Thybulle #4 of the Washington Huskies drives against Kenny Wooten #14 of the Oregon Ducks during the championship game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 04: Head coach Kyle Smith of the San Francisco Dons argues an official’s call during a quarterfinal game of the West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament against the Santa Clara Broncos at the Orleans Arena on March 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

12. Kyle Smith (Washington State)

Washington State has been a program in terrible shape for such a long time that it seems bizarre that these Cougars were in the Sweet Sixteen just eleven years ago. Back then, Tony Bennett roamed the sidelines and things have gone downhill since his departure for Virginia. Things are not looking up for Washington State, though they do hand the reigns of their program to another new head coach.

After growing up in Maryland, Smith’s coaching career has seen him mostly succeed on the west coast. He spent nearly two decades as an assistant coach, including nine years as an assistant to Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s. In 2010, he became the head coach at Columbia, winning a CIT title and actually making the Lions a competitive team. He would return to the west coast in 2016, hired by San Francisco to run the Dons program. Three 20+ win seasons later and he’s getting his shot on the big stage.

Smith will begin his career at Washington State with expectations as low as they’ve been for some time. He’s revered as a smart coach, though there are many things working against him with the Cougars. In his nine years of head coaching experience, he’s never even made an NIT, let alone the NCAA Tournament. His teams couldn’t take care of business against the Harvard’s and Gonzaga’s, why will that be different in the Pac-12 where his team is significantly overmatched?

Simply put, Smith doesn’t have a lot of success or experience compared to the average power conference head coach. Regardless, this could still turn out to be a smart hire if he can change the culture at Washington State. Bringing in solid recruits when you play less than an hour from Gonzaga is already tricky and Smith has his work cut out for him. Don’t expect anything magical this season from these Cougars, but perhaps Smith can start turning things around given a few seasons.

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