When Nolan Smith was offered the men’s basketball coaching job at Tennessee State, he felt it was the right place at the right time in his career.
“I’ve always wanted to be at an HBCU, knowing all the history, especially Howard and the HBCUs in North Carolina,” Smith explained during his appearance on “The MEAC & More” on Wednesday. “This was just the perfect one for me; the city, the Gentry Center, the league (Ohio Valley Conference), it just made perfect sense for me to come here and do what I wanted to do.”
Smith, an All-American point guard and NCAA champion at Duke, served as an assistant at Duke, Louisville and Memphis before being hired by Tennessee State last summer to replace Brian “Penny” Collins.
In his first season, Smith has guided the Tigers to the OVC regular season championship, set a Division I school record for wins to date (21) and earned OVC Co-Coach of the Year honors. Also, TSU senior guard Aaron Nkrumah was named OVC Player of The Year.
Tennessee State will open OVC tournament play Friday night in the semifinals after earning the top seed.
Smith was already familiar with Tennessee State’s historic legacy, which made the job an even better fit for him.
“When I first walked through the halls and saw Coach John McLendon’s picture, I put two and two together that he was the same guy I saw on the wall at North Carolina Central,” he said.
“I love the culture, I loved homecoming, I love the energy surrounding our games,” Smith continued. “It’s something we’re going to continue to build on to make this place even more special.”
