Dave Smart, who earned the U Sports coach of the year award a record 10 times, is headed to Texas Tech.
The coach of Carleton University men’s basketball program for the past 18 seasons has been hired by the Red Raiders to be an assistant bench boss for head coach Grant McCasland.
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Smart, who had an impressive record of 591-48 against U Sports competition, was the director of basketball operations at Carleton University in Ottawa the past four seasons.
“Dave Smart is one of the greatest coaches in all of basketball,” McCasland said in a statement. “We are thrilled to have him as part of our program.
“Coach Smart’s ability to win speaks for itself, but his understanding of how to help people grow is what separates him. We are thankful to have he and his family in Lubbock.”
During his 18 seasons at Carleton, Smart led the Ravens to 11 OUA championships — the most by any coach in conference history — and 13 U Sports Final 8 national championship titles.
Along with collegiate coaching experience, Smart was named the assistant coach of the Canadian senior men’s basketball national team by head coach Jay Triano.
In June 2013, The Development Men’s National Team (DMNT) completed a sweep of the Four Nations’ International Invitational Tournament with a perfect 9-0 record in registering three victories over each of the United States, Latvia and host-nation China.
Smart was also the assistant coach of the senior Canadian men’s national basketball team that finished third at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City. Smart helped Canada to an 8-2 record, including a one-point victory over Mexico in the bronze-medal game. At the 2016 FIBA Rio Olympic qualifying tournament in Manila, Philippines, coach Smart continued in his role as assistant coach of the SMNT.
Smart has been named recipient of the Pat O’Brien Award as Ravens’ Coach of the Year on five occasions. He was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. He was also a coaching consultant for the Ottawa Senators of the NHL, focusing on defensive mindsets and player attitude, and was the general manager of the Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Basketball League.
Smart is widely regarded as the most successful basketball coach in Canadian university history.
