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RH: Ben Smith Discovers Coaching in a New Light

RH Ben Smith

The RoundHouse | 2/6/2019 11:31:00 AM

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Where are they now:
 
Ben Smith – men's basketball (2010-12)
 
Smith combined outside shooting with defense and rebounding to become a key figure in Wichita State's earliest high points under coach Gregg Marshall.
 
In  2010-11, Smith earned Missouri Valley Conference Sixth Man of the Year honors and helped the Shockers win the National Invitation Tournament. In 2011-12, he started 19 games and earned a spot on the MVC's All-Defensive team while the Shockers won the MVC title and claimed a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
 
"It was one of the best times of my life," he said. "I remember practicing, having heated, intense battles in practice. I miss it every day."
 
Smith, a 6-foot-5 forward from Oklahoma City, averaged 8.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in two seasons at Wichita State after transferring from Northern Oklahoma College-Enid. He made 38.6 percent of his three-pointers. 
 
Smith scored a career-high 22 points in an 89-68 win at No. 17 Creighton in 2012, a game in which he also defended Bluejays star Doug McDermott. Smith's return to the starting lineup late that season sparked the Shockers on a nine-game win streak that wrapped up the MVC title. He started Wichita State's final 11 games, replacing Carl Hall to put more shooting in the lineup, and averaged 12.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. He made 40.9 percent of his three-pointers during that stretch.
 
"I always remember the Creighton game," Smith said. "At Creighton. They had a sold-out crowd and we beat them by like 25."
 
Status update – Smith teaches geography to seventh-graders at Summit Middle School in Edmond, Okla. He coaches eighth-grade girls basketball and baseball at the school.
 
"I always wanted to be a teacher," he said. "We're working on famine in Africa (in late January), the different causes of famine and hunger in Africa and how people are fixing the problem."
 
Smith said his class studied the "Lost Boys of Sudan," a group of orphans and refugees displaced during civil war in the 1980s.
 
"It's the same age group that (the students) are in," he said. "It really captures their attention."
 
Family – wife, Rachel; son, Rahnel (11)
 
Future on the bench – Smith is talking to coaches such as Marshall and former Wichita State assistants such as Dana Ford (now at Missouri State) and Earl Grant (College of Charleston) about a future in men's college coaching. Former Shocker John Cooper, an assistant at Oklahoma State, is also on his list of mentors.
 
"I didn't really want to coach, but they needed coaches in middle school so I did it," he said. "It has brought me another love."
 
Smith didn't think he possessed the right temperament to coach.
 
"I don't really yell," he said. "Coaches yell. And I've been talking to coaches and they say 'You don't have to yell. Making them run would do the same thing as yelling.' That's really helped me, because coaching eighth-grade is a little frustrating. It's taught me patience."
 
Teaching eighth-graders helps Smith understand basketball in a different way. He uses drills and examples from his Wichita State days. He reads books by John Wooden and Jay Wright. He plans to attend the Final Four to network for jobs.
 
"I have to work at the basics and it's really helped me," he said. "It makes me look up things, look up different clinics online and see how they explain it. Playing basketball is different than coaching, and I didn't know that until I started coaching."
 
Smith said teaching his players how to move without the ball is his biggest challenge. Defending without fouling is another challenge.
 
"I don't really look at wins and losses," he said. "I really look at 'Are you understanding basketball?' When they get to high school, I want them to be ready for basketball. It's understanding when I pass the ball, what do I do. Do I cut? Do I screen away? Why do we cut to the basket?'"
 
Like a Shocker – Smith remembers Marshall often telling the Shockers that they would miss all the hard work that goes into college basketball after their playing days ended.
 
Now he understands.
 
"Now, I wish I could go back to practice and run, just do something like that," he said. 
 
He patterns his coaching after familiar Marshall lessons. 
 
"We pride ourselves on defense and rebounding," he said. "When you see the girls improve, it's like a different feeling. It's like 'They actually get it. They're doing everything that I told them. This is crazy, and I taught them.' It's just like that in school."
 
Down come the nets – The Shockers turned a disappointing finish to the 2010-11 regular season into a memorable March with their five-game run to the NIT title. They defeated Nebraska, Virginia Tech, College of Charleston, Washington State and Alabama to celebrate in Madison Square Garden and claim Wichita State's first NIT title in 12 appearances. 
 
Smith said teammate Graham Hatch spoke up at a team meeting when the Shockers discussed playing in the NIT. Hatch wanted to play in the tournament because he didn't expect to play after college. He wanted the Shockers to commit to spending extra time in the gym outside of practice every day during the tournament.
 
"He said 'If we're going to do this, we have to really buy in,'" he said. "We held ourselves accountable. We partnered up – 'Hey, we're going to the gym.' I think that's what helped us. We were in the gym together all the time. After that, it was like a different team."
 
The Shockers started with a 76-49 win over Nebraska at Koch Arena. A 79-76 overtime at Virginia Tech provided WSU its first win at an ACC opponent. Back home, the Shockers stopped College of Charleston 82-75 to advance to New York. Wichita State routed Washington State 75-44 in the semifinal and handled Alabama 66-57 in the championship game.
 
"It was surreal," he said. "It was the first time I've ever won my last game. Then it was at Madison Square Garden. Picture perfect."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
 
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