Rebounding is one of the keys to victory in basketball. It?s also a key to succeeding in life. And San Diego State head coach Barb Smith went hard to the glass during the 2000-01 season, her fourth with the Aztecs.
After getting out to a tough start during her first three years at SDSU, Smith got the Aztecs pointed back in the right direction a year ago, posting a number of milestones of her tenure, including number of overall victories (13), number of conference victories (5), number of non-conference victories (8), number of road victories (5) and longest winning streak (6).
She enters her fifth season on The Mesa with a career record of 39-68 (.364).
Smith, 37, was named to the post on May 2, 1997, and is just the fifth women[apos]s basketball coach in the 26-year history of the sport at SDSU.
Through four seasons now, the Smith-led Aztecs have seen plenty of improvements, both on and off the court ? women[apos]s basketball had the highest average team GPA at SDSU during the 1998-99 academic year, for example. SDSU has also produced some significant victories under Smith[apos]s guidance, including wins over California and Oregon State of the Pacific-10 Conference, Kansas State of the Big 12 and a sweep of conference rival Colorado State ? a postseason participant each of the last two years.
Smith has also developed a pair of second-team all-Mountain West Conference honorees in Mary Apiafi (2000) and Jamey Cox (2001) as well as two conference all-newcomer team selections ? Cox (2000) and Claire Swinbank (1999) ? during her tenure on Montezuma Mesa.
A native of Perrysburg, Ohio, Smith came to San Diego State from Colorado, where she spent nine seasons as the Buffaloes[apos] top assistant and recruiting coordinator. During that time, she helped build CU into one of the nation[apos]s top programs. In only her first season at Colorado in 1988-89, Smith helped lead the Buffs to a landmark 14-0 Big 8 season and the school[apos]s first league-tournament title. CU would go on to win four more conference championships during her stint in Boulder, posting victories at a 77-percent clip en route to a 217-65 overall record ? an average of over 24 wins a season.
The Buffs were also no strangers to the NCAA Tournament or the national rankings during her tenure at Colorado. CU earned bids to the big dance eight times, including the 1994 and ?95 campaigns when the Buffaloes ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation. In 1996-97, the Buffs finished the season with a 23-9 overall record, won the inaugural Big 12 Tournament championship and advanced to the [quote]Sweet 16[quote] of the NCAA Tournament.
Smith developed a reputation as an outstanding recruiter while at Colorado, securing some of the nation[apos]s top prep players. In her last four years at CU, three of the school[apos]s recruiting classes were ranked in the top 10 nationally, including the third best class in 1996.
In addition to her recruiting duties at Colorado, Smith also assisted in scouting, conditioning and coaching guard play, and was instrumental in the development of CU[apos]s first Kodak All-American, point guard Shelley Sheetz, in 1995.
Active on the national scene with the Women[apos]s Basketball Coaching Association, Smith is in the middle of a two-year term on the WBCA Board of Directors. She also oversees the WBCA[apos]s Coach of the Year committee.
A 1986 graduate of Ohio State with a B.S. in health education, Smith was a walk-on with the Buckeyes[apos] 1982-83 team, then coached by Tara VanDerveer. By the end of the season, she had earned a starting role at point guard and a scholarship for the remainder of her eligibility. At 5-5, she was the smallest player in the Big Ten Conference but still managed to lead the Buckeyes to four league titles and three NCAA appearances, including the 1985 East Regional final and the ?86 Mideast Regional semifinals. Smith was also a member of the Dean[apos]s List all four years at OSU and graduated [quote]cum laude.[quote]
Smith began her coaching career in 1987 as a graduate assistant at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y., while earning her master[apos]s degree in business administration. She assumed the assistant position at Colorado two years later.
In her 19 years as a player and a coach, Smith has experienced 11 seasons with at least 20 wins and only six sub-.500 campaigns.