Saint Vincent names Terrance Smith new men's basketball coach

It didn’t take Saint Vincent long to find a new men’s basketball coach to replace D.P. Harris, who left March 7 to coach at NAIA St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla.

After receiving more than 100 applicants, Saint Vincent officials trimmed the list to six finalists and then to three before hiring an assistant coach from Harris’ staff.

Terrance Smith, a 2001 Saint Vincent graduate and a current faculty member, was named the program’s head coach Friday. He spent the past five seasons as an assistant.

He was the school’s leading scorer until Tony Washam passed him in 2001.

“With Terrance Smith as head men’s basketball coach, we look forward to continue the winning ways of Bearcat basketball,” Saint Vincent President Br. Norman Hipps said.

Smith is a native of Raleigh, N.C. who grew up in Sharon and then played high school basketball in Westerville, Ohio.

At Saint Vincent, Smith was a two-time NAIA All-American for the Bearcats and still ranks as the team’s second-leading scorer of all time. He scored 1,819 points from 1997-2001. He played for the late Bernie Matthews.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity,” Smith said. “This is my alma mater. This is where I played. I’m overwhelmed with the support that I’ve received, and I’m very appreciative of the opportunity. This is a successful program and a wonderful place.

“I learned a lot from Coach Matthews and Coach Harris. I observed how they handled things and will adopt some of that to my style. At the end of the day we’re a different coach and different personality.”

When it comes to recruiting, Smith won’t be changing a lot. He said what Saint Vincent has done over the years has worked.

“We’re looking for a hard worker, someone who is just as dedicated to academics and athletics,” Smith said. “Academics are first. We want someone committed to both.

“We’re going to look wherever. We’ll try to hit the local areas harder than we’ve done in the past, but not going to limit our areas. Florida is a good area for us, and we want keep that.”

Smith served as a member of the U.S. Army. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a 12-year military career.

There he learned about discipline, something he will demand from his players.

During the course of his time in the military, he earned a number of medals and ribbons, including a Meritorious Service Medal, multiple Army Commendations and Army Achievement Medals and Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals with Combat Stars.

Smith earned an master’s degree in project management from Grantham University, and his DBA in project management from Walden University.

Smith serves as an assistant professor for the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government, primarily in the Master of Science in Management: Operational Excellence program. He is also the director of the Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence (KCOE) program on campus.

“Working at Saint Vincent and with our team for the past five years naturally helps with the familiarity with the players,” Smith said. “The relationships we’ve already built will be important in this process. The expectations remain the same as always, to win the conference and get to the NCAA Tournament.”