Story courtesy: Ben Paul, FAU athletics

Florida Atlantic men’s basketball Head Coach John Jakus has announced the hiring of Aaron Smith as an assistant coach.

Smith arrives to Paradise after spending one year at Longwood University. He spent three years with Louisiana Tech in the same role, a team that recorded 20+ wins in back-to-back seasons.

While at Longwood, he was a part of the staff to recruit the best class in program history. He oversaw the academic success of the student-athletes, and the team recorded a 3.26 GPA for the third-highest GPA in school history. Primarily worked with the guards and wings, worked with Colby Garland, Angelo Brizzi, and Kyrell Luc. 

At Louisiana Tech, among the players Smith helped coach were Isaiah Crawford, who was voted CUSA Player of the Year and CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, as well as Daniel Batcho, who was selected as the CUSA Newcomer of the Year

Prior to Louisiana Tech, Smith spent seven seasons with head coaching stops at Jacksonville College and Panola College. During his stint, he won two Region XIV South Zone championships, coached two All-Americans, and had 10 First or Second Team All-Region performers.

Smith spent three seasons at the helm at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, leading the Ponies in 2021-22 to a 22-10 overall record while advancing to the Region XIV semifinals. He coached Panola to a 14-7 record in the 2020-21 season and 19-12 in 2019-20, with several appearances in the national rankings.

At Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas, he guided the Jaguars to three 20-win seasons in four years and made two appearances in the Region XIV South Zone Championships, the program’s first two since 1989.

A 2008 graduate of Prairie View A&M, Smith played basketball for the Panthers. His career continued as the fourth overall pick in the 2008 CBA Draft, winning the CBA Championship in 2009 as a member of the Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry. He also spent time playing overseas in France and Bulgaria. 

Smith earned his Master of Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017.Â