Ivy League Basketball News

GoColumbiaLions.com sat down with Columbia coach Kyle Smith to discuss the past four months and the season ahead.  Excerpts:

Q: When you recruit, how do you talk about New York City as a unique selling point for the Columbia program?

A: I love it. It’s what distinguishes us from the other seven [Ivy] schools. We have this vibrant, cultural center that is the epicenter of so many things. It attracts the best and brightest in so many fields. As far as basketball goes, we had Team USA practicing in town, we had a [Brazil-China exhibition] game in our gym, we have [Madison Square] Garden. If you like the excitement that New York provides, you’re going to love Columbia. It’s two for one. You get the whole package. It’s not for everybody and that’s OK with me. But for the people who really want that experience, it really is a great selling point.

Q: Having seen St. Mary’s play last year, it seemed that the team focused on ball movement and hustle plays, among other areas. How can you bring those aspects to Columbia as a head coach?

A: It’s something we’ll value – sharing the ball. We’ll talk about it, we’ll emphasize it. Last year was a culmination of nine years so it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something we’ll value in recruiting, finding guys who are willing to do those things. The hustle aspect is something that comes from guys within the program, pushing themselves and pushing each other to get to that next level of success.

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AM New York — Q&A: Columbia basketball adds Kyle Smith to New York’s much-changed coaching mix (excerpts)

The last time that Columbia had a winning record in the Ivies was 1993, right?

I’m going with the last time we won the league — 1968. … I’m trying to make history.

Do you have benchmarks that you want to meets as you go along in the next few years?

Absolutely. The first one would be, Let’s have a winning record. … I think the key to turning it is having many goals. Whether it’s like, you can’t lose back-to-back. … That’s hard to do. Go get a non-league road win. To be a good team is to be able to win on the road. … You got to get good at home before you get good on the road.

What’s your favorite part of recruiting?

Evaluating, actually. I can sit in a gym for 20 hours watching games. I don’t like to have to find the number, the e-mail, and that part. But I can identify a guy, I can sit there and watch him and, Okay, I think that guy’s going to be good. My schtick has been, Find a guy that really is not getting recruited. You know he’s going to be good, he’s a late bloomer, he’s long, he’s rangy, he’s really skillful, but it’s hard to put a scholarship on that guy because he may not be able to deliver right away. … I think there’s a lot of guys like that.

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We failed to notice earlier that Brown sophomore Jean Herbert-Harris was also listed (alongside Penn freshman Brian Fitzpatrick) on Jeff Goodman’s transfers list.

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ESPN.com’s Kieran Darcy — Columbia’s new Lion ready to roar

The latest addition to the New York City coaching fraternity was introduced on Wednesday morning: Kyle Smith, the new men’s basketball coach at Columbia University.

Smith seems aware of, but undaunted by, what lies ahead of him. “I know I have a lot to learn, a big learning curve, but I think we’ll get there,” Smith said. “I don’t see any reason why Columbia can’t be good.”

“What’s going on in the Ivy League right now is exciting,” Smith said. “I always thought you could do it, and Stevie [Donahue] proved it. … The league has opened up in a sense. If you have the right infrastructure as far as administration support, [and] you know what you’re doing coaching-wise and recruiting-wise, I think you can get good.”

How high can Smith take Columbia? It remains to be seen. It took Donahue seven years to break through and make an NCAA tournament at Cornell. Patience is necessary. But Smith’s goal is clear: To hang an NCAA tournament banner at Levien Gymnasium.

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Kunal Gupta, Columbia Spectator’s Spectrum blog: Is Kyle Smith up to the task?

His résumé looks pretty good. It was a solid move by the athletic department to bring in a coach that has excelled at recruitment. The path to the Ivy League championship starts with recruitment, and I expect Smith to bring in not only talented individuals, but also players that fit well within his system. In addition, Smith has done a great job of player development, and has a history of turning bad teams around. That last bit sounds especially good to me.

The only issue I have is with his lack of head coaching experience. The positions of assistant and head coach are very different, and the transition from less to more responsibility can be problematic. It’s easy to focus on what you do best when you have someone else above you. Now, Smith will be in charge, and the future of the team will be in his hands. I hope he’s ready for the challenge, because I expect to see improvement, especially when it comes to consistency and in-game decision making. I understand that Smith will be coaching Jones’ players, but you never know what can happen, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he and the Lions will accomplish next year.

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ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neil — Surveying the NY/NJ coaching wreckage

Throw out Cornell (which is 225 miles from the city) and Siena (a three-hour drive) and New York/New Jersey has been represented in the Big Dance just twice in the past seven years.

Columbia hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1968; Fordham, 1992; Hofstra, 2001; Iona, 2006; Rutgers, 1991; St. John’s, 2002; Seton Hall, 2006; and Wagner, 2003. St. Francis has never been.

“When you start claiming Cornell and Siena as your New York City teams, it’s bad,” said Dick “Hoops” Weiss, the longtime basketball writer for the New York Daily News.

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Related:

SNY.tv — Smith takes over at Columbia

Kyle Smith press conference video

Columbia Athletics press release: Kyle Smith named head Men’s Basketball coach

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SNY.tv — Smith takes over at Columbia

Having watched the Big Red’s run, Smith believes the same type of thing is possible at Columbia, which went 11-17 overall, 5-9 in the league last season.

“I’m not saying Sweet 16, but Cornell’s success, it’s out there, it’s available,” Smith said. You’ve got to work it.”

[Columbia sophomore guard Noruwa Agho] was also motivated by the Big Red’s run.

“As a player, it’s easy to see why they were so good, the chemistry that they had,” he said. “And honestly, had they made more shots, they might’ve even beaten Kentucky. They weren’t far off from going to the Final Four.”

Agho said the challenge for Columbia will be to build that same type of relationships.

“If you can build that camaraderie and that chemistry, that wins in college basketball,” he said. “And I think that’s the next step for us. And I think that his system and how organized he is, can help us achieve that goal instead of just talking about it.”

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New York Magazine — Meet Kyle Smith, Columbia’s new coach (excerpts)

Today the Columbia Lions introduced their new basketball coach, former St. Mary’s assistant Kyle Smith. We sneaked onstage after his introductory press conference to chat.

You were at St. Mary’s during the big run in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Tell us about Omar Samhan.

He’s nuts. He’s a bigger-than-life personality. I can’t wait — he’s going to get some workouts with the Knicks and the Nets sometime soon, so I’m going to parade him through Columbia. They will not be ready for him.

We imagine he was a handful. At Columbia, you have a much more toned-down team.

I think I’ll relate more on a college-playing experience. I went to Hamilton, and it’s not Columbia, but Alexander Hamilton went to Columbia. I think it will play well with these guys. One of the kids, I think, will be pretty good, Brian Barbour. I recruited [him] at St. Mary’s, but he ended up going to Columbia. He chose Columbia over St. Mary’s, and I think that’s the thing about this league. Columbia’s a good job because for some of these kids, and he’s local, they aspire to do this regardless … so when you say Sweet 16, it’s actually possible.

Did Cornell’s Sweet 16 run make this job more desirable?

Somewhat, I think a little bit, Cornell and Harvard. I think Tommy Amaker figured out, it’s a pretty easy sell. You’re selling gold: An Ivy League degree is gold.

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Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports tweets,

Sources have told FOXSports.com that Columbia expected to hire Saint Mary’s associate head coach Kyle Smith.

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The Trentonian’s Full Court press blog: Kyle Smith to Columbia, Tim O’Toole out of the running

A source close to O’Toole told The Trentonian he was notified by the school that the Lions were “going in a different direction,” meaning Smith’s hire is likely imminent.

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Zagsblog — Kyle Smith to Columbia

“Kyle will be the next head coach at Columbia,” a source with direct knowledge said.

An announcement will come Sunday with a press conference to follow mid-week.

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