6/25/2019 basketball Edit

Cal Basketball: Five Takeaways from Charmin Smith's Press Conference

Trace Travers • GoldenBearReport

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Publisher of GoldenBearReport.com (Cal Rivals)

The Cal women's basketball coaching search came to a close last Friday, as former assistant Charmin Smith got the call back to Berkeley, a little under two months after leaving for an assistant coaching position with the WNBA's New York Liberty. Just when she thought she was out, Jim Knowlton dragged Smith back, after Lindsay Gottlieb went to the NBA.

Today, Smith was formally introduced as the new Cal women's basketball head coach at a press conference in Memorial Stadium's field club. She's the 10th coach in the history of Cal women's basketball.

"I truly do believe in Cal basketball," Smith said, "the last 12 years of my life were dedicated to this program, to this university, and the women on the team. The team is a reflection of their coach, and under my leadership, this team will embody discipline, leadership, and competitiveness. I will not be outworked."

Smith touched on a number of topics during and after the press conference as well.

1. Why She Came Back

Smith noted during the press conference that she left Cal a couple months ago for the New York Liberty, citing a need to continue to grow, that she wasn't going to retire as an assistant at Cal. With Gottlieb unexpectedly moving on to the Cleveland Cavaliers' staff, the opportunity to grow in Berkeley was available once again.

"There aren't that many head coaching jobs in the country that would make me this happy and inspire me this way," Smith said, "it had to be the right opportunity, with the right people, under the right leadership, and that's what this opportunity is for me.

2. Defense First

Smith noted that defense is going to be focus for her in the early going, citing some of the issues that the 2018-19 Bears had.

"I am a defensive minded player and coach," Smith said, "and just looking at some areas we struggled with last season, our defensive field goal percentage wasn't in the top half of the Pac-12, we were 10th in 3 point percentage defensively, so I think those are some areas where you're going to see a team that gets after it more, defensively. I think that will turn into more offensive production as well. I'm aware that we're losing some key cogs when it comes to that offensive production, so we need to get some of that offense from our defense."

3. Assistants Staying On

Assistants Kai Felton, Wendale Farrow, and April Phillips all sat in the front row during the press conference, with current players Mi'Cole Canyon, Jaelyn Brown, and CJ West behind them. All three coaches will be staying on, as a tweet from Phillips put it succinctly.

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"There was no hesitation," Smith said, "no doubt in my mind that this is the right group to help support me, and to lead this team"

There's continuity with the coaching staff, something that will keep Smith focused on overcoming the other obstacles of being a first time head coach.

"Right now, I'm not worried about making those hires," Smith said, "I can focus on getting the recruits, so it's definitely an advantage. There's a lot of things I haven't experienced yet, as a first time head coach, and I'm going to have to deal with that, so it's good that I don't have to have three other people who are experiencing things for the first time at a new institution. I'm glad that Kai and Dale have been here, they're familiar with things and we will be up to speed with those things, and I can get get up to speed as a head coach."

4. Nothing on McKenzie Forbes Yet

Cal freshman McKenzie Forbes asked for her release from the program last week in the aftermath of Gottlieb's departure, and Smith didn't have any news about Forbes, who she was a big part of the recruiting process for.

"I have had a conversation with her, the first thing I did was to have a conversation with our current players to let them know how excited I was to be returning and let them know they are valued to this program," Smith said. "I think Kenzie could have an extraordinary role as a member of this basketball team, I think we're her family, she knows how much I love her, she knows how much I care about her, and I hope she decides to stick to this commitment and be here. I understand change is hard, and she went through a lot, she had really strong relationships with me and Lindsay. I'm hoping that me coming back will help he decide she wants to stay, because I think she is a crucial piece and could have a really good basketball experience here, and we know how much Cal has to offer outside of basketball, I'm hoping she decides to stick with it.

5. Hit the Ground Running Recruiting

One of the areas highlight in Cal material announcing Smith was that she brought 12 McDonald's all-Americans to Cal, and she, along with Felton and Phillips, are planning on keeping that train running.

"Hiring April Phillips, I have to thank Lindsay for that, she's a phenomenal recruiter," Smith said, "Kai has been right there in the trenches with me for years in recruiting, and I think we've done a great job, I think we've just added the right piece that'll help me focus on head coaching responsibilities. In terms of not having a let up, it's going to be even better, because April is just phenomenal and she's really excited and has a lot of passion for recruiting, I think that's going to take us a long way."