FSU basketball gets new assistant coach with ACC experience & recruiting, development history

Florida State recently lost an assistant coach when Dennis Gates took over the head coaching gig at Cleveland State, and it didn’t take long to fill the position. Former Clemson assistant Steve Smith was added to Coach Hamilton’s staff this afternoon.

Smith was a valuable assistant on Coach Brownell’s staff, at least until he committed the cardinal sin of talking about Clemson Football buying recruits. This conversation was caught on a wiretap and became part of the FBI investigation into college hoops. Talk frankly about Dabo and his program at a place that doesn’t really care about basketball? You’re out.

But their loss is FSU’s gain. Coach Smith has a long relationship with fellow assistant CY Young, as he worked for Young at Georgia Southern.

The South Carolina native played his college basketball at Morgan State before spending six years in the Army.

At Clemson, Smith was the lead recruiter for Donte Grantham, who was one of the highest rated recruits landed in Brownell’s tenure. Smith is also credited with the development of Jaron Blossomgame and K.J. McDaniels. Clemson is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, and it is expected that Smith will play a big role with FSU’s wings as well as the overall defensive principles.

As a recruiter, he is strong in Georgia and South Carolina. This has potential overlap with Coach Young, but there are enough talented players in the region that it shouldn’t be an issue.