If the Razorbacks beat Duke and end Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s prestigious career Saturday night, Smart will go back to the Superdome in New Orleans, the site of his famous shot. What are the chances? Win or lose, Smart knows he’s in the right place, at the right time, even though the longtime pro coach had no interest in a college job until recently.
“Whenever I push my own initiative, it never works,” the 57-year-old said. “All my steps are ordered. We’re faith-based people, so I know that. There’s a linear line to everything. Just look at what’s been happening since I came to Arkansas.”
Smart coached in the NBA for two decades before he joined Musselman’s staff last May. Ten years ago, Musselman took the same career turn, leaving more than 20 years in the pros for college. After working as an assistant at Arizona State and LSU, Musselman served four seasons in the top job at Nevada before he came to Arkansas in 2019. He has redefined his career, shifting from a twice-fired NBA coach to a college coach/program-marketing maven with a .750 NCAA winning percentage. The most fascinating part of his success is that he has excelled by seeking many players and staff in need of the same type of regeneration that he has enjoyed, seeing the benefits of transfers long before it was popular and valuing assistants with diverse basketball experiences over pure college coaches.
Given an opportunity to see the game differently — and given an opportunity to be seen differently — Smart is thriving in his first collegiate season. He wasn’t interested in coaching at this level until he flirted with the Indiana head job in 2017. Archie Miller got the job at his alma mater instead. He was a candidate for the Hoosiers again last year before Indiana hired Mike Woodson.
When Smart asked Musselman to call Indiana on his behalf, Musselman said, “Oh, you’re interested in college? I didn’t even know.” The coach made the call, and after Indiana went with Woodson, Musselman saw an opportunity for the Razorbacks.
For many pro coaches, the transition to college is difficult because of the obligations beyond basketball: recruiting, parents, school administration, youth mentorship, academic watchdog. But Smart has taken to all those job requirements. His wife, Carol, joked that the hardest part for him was using his smartphone more to communicate with high school and college students.
“Keith is not a phone person,” Carol said, laughing. “He used to just leave it somewhere for hours. He had to learn to be on the phone.”
In January, when Musselman was recovering from shoulder surgery, Smart led the team for a few games, starting with one against LSU. It offered a chance for him to go home to Baton Rouge and see his mother for the first time since the pandemic began two years ago. Arkansas, which had been having some midseason struggles, won the game. It was another sign that Smart was in the right place.
On Selection Sunday, after Arkansas found out it would be the No. 4 seed in the West Region, Smart asked his wife whether she wanted to come to Buffalo for the first- and second-round games. Carol declined and said she would see him the next week in San Francisco. She still resides in the Bay Area and visits her husband frequently during the season, a family decision they made long ago to handle the transience of coaching.
Smart thought it was bold to wait. But Carol had faith. And on Thursday, there were the Razorbacks, upsetting the top overall seed Gonzaga at Chase Center, just four miles from the hospital where Smart rang the bell in 2016 to conclude his fight against a skin cancer called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. He needed surgery and more than 30 radiation treatments. During an interview, he turned his head to the left and ran his index finger down a scar on his face.
“This is actually my thigh,” he said, referencing his skin graft operation.
At the time, he was an assistant for the Miami Heat. In his career, he had taken and lost so many jobs that he was accustomed to handling bad news. But the cancer battle was different. He faced his own mortality, and then he had to face how his health struggle was impacting his family.
“Boys, I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” he told his two sons one day.
“Dad, don’t worry,” they told him. “You’re here.”
Said Carol: “I cried at times. I didn’t want to cry in front of him.”
Smart survived. He continued his career, and now it has come full circle. Actually, it seems as if there are multiple circles, tracing multiple phases of his life. He refuses to think too far ahead. Duke is too difficult an opponent. The coaching staff spent all of Friday game-planning for the Blue Devils.
But just in case it’s relevant, Smart is carrying his 1987 championship ring with him. He hasn’t shown it to the team and addressed the players about those memories yet. But he has it with him in case the moment seems right for motivation.
Considering how his first year back in college has gone, he is wise to be prepared.