Busting Brackets
Fansided

Summit League Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose

SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 20: Lawrence Alexander #12 of the North Dakota State Bison plays against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2014 in Spokane, Washington. North Dakota State won the game 80-75. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 20: Lawrence Alexander #12 of the North Dakota State Bison plays against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2014 in Spokane, Washington. North Dakota State won the game 80-75. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 11
Next
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 02: Head coach Craig Smith of the South Dakota Coyotes (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC – DECEMBER 02: Head coach Craig Smith of the South Dakota Coyotes (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

9. Craig Smith – South Dakota (2014-2018)

The South Dakota job offered a major opportunity for Smith and it became a breakthrough for an exciting young coaching career. He had already been a head coach at the NAIA level but was most known for assisting Tim Miles at four different schools, concluding with a two year run at Nebraska. He departed the Big Ten in 2014 for South Dakota

South Dakota is still relatively new to the Summit League and D1 athletics, but Smith made major strides for the Coyotes. They won the regular-season title in 2017 and nearly repeated the feat the following year, though neither season ended with a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Smith went 79-55, with a 26-9 mark and CBI bid in his final season.

Smith has made even greater strides in his two years at Utah State since departing the Coyotes, but there’s no denying the major step forward this program experienced. Successor Todd Lee hasn’t yet taken advantage of what Smith left behind but has the program trending in the right direction after a 20-win season last year. Considering his instant success with Utah State, perhaps Smith’s progress at South Dakota should come as no surprise.