November 19, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Katie Smith returns to The Ohio State University, talks Minnesota Lynx
By The Next
Smith: 'It's been a whirlwind'
On today’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Katie Smith joins host Howard Megdal to talk about returning to Ohio State, this time as an assistant coach. After growing up in Ohio and playing four years for the Buckeyes, Smith went on to become a two-time ABL champion with the Columbus Quest. She was allocated to the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 1999, and eventually became a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock.
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After her playing career came to a close in 2013, she began coaching in the WNBA, eventually making her way back to the Minnesota Lynx in 2020 as an assistant, before being promoted to associate head coach in 2022. Now, she turns the page back even further, heading back to her home state to join Buckeyes head coach Kevin McGuff and his staff:
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“It’s been a whirlwind,” Smith told Megdal. “Part of it was telling my family, you know, my mom and dad, my mom was pretty pumped up, some [of my] Logan folks, and then a lot of the alums, and then the fans that have been here when I was here, prior to me, and continuing to watch the program now. So just lots of [support] from the institution, from outside, from my personal, it’s, it’s wild. You know what I mean? A lot of people [have] been, I’ve been waiting for this my whole [life]. It’s a lot of fun, and it feels good, it’s nice to be home.”
“You know, coaching is hard in general just because … you don’t pick the job you want. You don’t get to say, I want that job, I want to get it on this year and at this time. You know what I mean?” she continued. “All these coaches, it’s really on a whim. Opportunities happen, you up and leave. But for me … I’m not big on chasing any job. I have [a] couple locations I’ve always wanted to end up in. I mean, [Minneapolis] is kind of like a second home. And then Columbus, that’s where my house has been, that’s where my parents are, that’s where my wife [is] and, you know, this has been home. So … ultimately, this was somewhere that I was, at some point, hoping to get back to. [With the] timing, [I’m] thankful and grateful for McGuff to give me an opportunity to come back and be a part of this with the whole staff.”
Smith and Megdal also talked about the Lynx’s most recent run to the WNBA Finals, and what it was like to coach that team all the way to the league’s biggest stage:
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“We just did it our own way,” Smith said. “It wasn’t always blowing people out of the water. Sometimes when you looked at us at the jump ball, you’re like, oh my gosh, we’re so small, like [Napheesa Collier]’s, your four, [she’s] 6’1, I mean, [Alanna Smith] is only 6’3, but some teams were towering, and we just battled. And so it was just really, it was such a fun group. And as I said, they just truly tried to do everything you asked of them, and tried to execute all of it. … Every time you walked in the gym, you’re just happy to be with them and go out there and play, and ultimately ended up [with] literally a play or two [and it] would have gone the other way and would have been crazy. [I] wanted it so bad for them, you know, because all of us … know just how hard it is to actually get there, let alone win it, and to have those opportunities … [It] definitely hurt, but wouldn’t done it with anybody else, because they literally were the best staff, players, it wash so much fun.”
Tune in to hear more from Smith about going from the WNBA back to the NCAA, how the women’s basketball environment has changed over the course of her career, and much more. Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
