Kiski Area grad Nevada Smith takes on new role with Texas basketball

Bill Beckner | Monday, October 5, 2020 11:40 a.m.

Photos courtesy Keystone College

Kiski Area graduate Nevada Smith is the new men’s basketball director of program development at the University of Texas.

He used to splash down 3-pointers at Kiski Area and Bethany and later drew up plays for college and future NBA players.

But now Nevada Smith is set to begin a new challenge. He will help shape a Division I college outfit as the men’s basketball director of program development at Texas.

Smith, a West Leechburg native, was hired in late September to be part of coach Shaka Smart’s support staff.

Most recently, he was the coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Miami Heat’s affiliate in the NBA G League, a position he held for three seasons (2016-19).

Sioux Falls went 78-72 under Smith, who also coached the league’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets) to a 57-44 mark over two seasons.

Smith, who is named after one of the main characters in the Harold Robbins book, “The Carpet Baggers,” had a number of stops on his way to the pros, including coach at Keystone College and SUNY Canton, and assistant gigs at Ithaca, Allegheny and St. Lawrence (N.Y.).

He led the nation in 3-pointers per game as a junior at Bethany, where he scored 1,255 points and also made all-conference as a golfer.