Marquette assistant Nevada Smith has agreed to be head coach at Siena
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Marquette men's basketball coach Shaka Smart is losing a key member of his staff.
Nevada Smith, who helped shape the Golden Eagles' offense, has agreed to become the next coach at Siena, the Journal Sentinel confirmed on April 1. College basketball insider Jon Rothstein first reported the hiring.
Smith first joined Smart's staff at Texas in 2020-21, then followed the head coach when he was hired at MU for the next season.
Before linking up with Smart, Smith spent time in the NBA G League and became well-known in coaching circles for high-octane, efficient offenses with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Sioux Falls Skyforce. Smith also spent time in NCAA Division III, including as head coach at Keystone College.
At MU, Smith's offense prioritized spacing and movement to create 3-pointers and shots at the rim. With future NBA players Tyler Kolek, Oso Ighodaro, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kam Jones, the Golden Eagles had one of the most efficient offenses from 2023-25, even reaching No. 1 in that category on the statistical website KenPom.com for a brief stretch in the 2022-23 season
This season, MU was one of the best teams in the country at getting shots at the rim, but couldn't convert those looks and also shot 31.8% on 3-pointers. Thus, MU's offense fell to 119th on KenPom's efficiency rankings.
This is the first major shakeup to Smart's staff since the coach arrived at MU, though he has added assistants as the NCAA allowed more positions. Current assistants Neill Berry, Cody Hatt and DeAndre Haynes also started at MU with Smart.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette losing assistant Nevada Smith from Shaka Smart's staff
