Men's Basketball Director of Basketball Operations Jamie Smith

01/01/00

- Director of Basketball Operations Jamie Smith

Jamie Smith joins the Tribe staff as the director of basketball operations for the 2007-08 season after serving as the top assistant coach at Montreat College. Smith’s primary responsibilities involve directing the film exchange program, coordinating team travel, designing recruiting mailouts, and taking care of all administrative based needs. Smith will also direct the 2008 Tribe Team Camp.

“Jamie is a fantastic young man who brings a unique international flavor to our program,” Shaver said. “He has a tremendous work ethic, and we are excited about his addition. He also possesses a number of different and innovative ideas that can do nothing but benefit our program as we continue to progress.”

At Montreat, Smith’s duties included recruiting, scouting, strength and conditioning, film exchange, perimeter player development, and day-to-day basketball operations. He also served as the director of intramural athletics.

Under the charge of Bill Robinson, the Cavaliers finished the 2006-07 season with a 19-13 (14-4) record, en route to an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season Championship. The Cavs ranked as high as #11 in the national polls, the best showing in school history. The team was also voted AAC Champions of Character for the third consecutive year.

From 2004 to 2006, Smith studied the game under the tutelage of Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina. During his two years with the Tar Heel Program, he served as a manager for both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams and as a volunteer administrative assistant. Smith assisted with individual workouts, practice and game day operations, strength and conditioning, and on-campus recruiting. He also worked three years of camp operations for the Roy Williams’ Basketball Camp.

In 2004-05, the Tar Heels finished with a 33-4 (14-2) record, were ACC Champions and were crowned National Champions. Smith witnessed the departure of seven scholarship players that graduated or left for the NBA, and the rebuilding process that followed. In 2005-06 the Carolina coaching staff led the most inexperienced team in school history to a 23-8 (12-4) record, a second place finish in the ACC, and a final top 10 national ranking - an accomplishment that earned Roy Williams National Coach of the Year honors.

In addition to his involvement with Tar Heel basketball, Smith played on Carolina’s back-to-back national championship handball squad under sport psychologist Dr. John “Doc” Silva. He was also a port oarsman for Carolina men’s crew team, and won a bronze medal in the lightweight four at the 2004 Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.

Smith graduated with highest distinction as a double major in exercise & sport science and psychology at UNC. His academic achievement earned him induction into the prestigious honor society, Phi Beta Kappa.

Prior to his arrival on the East Coast, Smith was a student assistant coach under Derek Zeck at the College of Southern Idaho. From 1999-2002, the Golden Eagles achieved an 84-17 record, won regular season and tournament conference championships, and made it to the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.

During this time, the program developed eighteen players that went on to compete at the NCAA Division I level. Smith worked with three players that have since made NBA rosters: Smush Parker (Lakers), Tony Bobbitt (Lakers), and Yakhouba Diawara (Nuggets). A further three players are current members of the AND1 Mixtape Tour: Cardell Butler (AKA “Ballaholic”), Kenny Brunner (AKA “Bad Santa”), and Jerry Dupree (AKA “The Assassin”).

Originally from the United Kingdom, Smith began his coaching career in 1998-99 as the head coach at Cricklade College in Andover, England. During the same season he played in England’s National Basketball League for the Southampton Trailblazers.

Smith played varsity basketball for Coach Dave Sanders at Peter Symonds College in Winchester, England. He helped Symonds to back-to-back conference championships and an invitation to the British Colleges National Cup in 1997-98.