Homeward State: A prodigal son takes on a hometown job
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:07 pmLocal standout returns home to take Penn State job
April 30, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WS) – Growing up as a son of a Penn State University employee while enjoying a standout scholastic career in town at State College High School, Elijah Smead never imagined that he’d one day be the coach of the Penn State men’s basketball program.
It’s not that Smead’s credentials were lacking. Smead, a 1998 graduate at State College, received a fair amount of Division I interest while guiding the Little Lions to the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals as a sophomore.
After his collegiate career, Smead bounced around as a high school coach, finding moderate success at nearby Hollidaysburg Area before latching onto his brother’s staff overseas with Élan Sportif Chalonnais in the French pro basketball pyramid.
When Lucas Smead was recently hired as a coach by the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Elijah was almost assured a spot on his brother’s bench, likely as the team’s video coordinator.
Then Penn State came calling.
It was a shock to the 41-year-old, who grew up cheering for – and eventually walking on at – the University of Pittsburgh, shunning the Nittany Lions’ offer of a spot on the team over 20 years ago. Smead never made an appearance on the court for the Panthers, but he was on the proverbial observation deck to witness the program’s rise in the early 2000s.
The university introduced Smead to media and friends of the program on Friday, in what the new Nittany Lions bench boss – and birthday boy – called a “surreal event.”
“My late father, Geoff, who worked at the university for over 30 years, would have laughed at me taking this job after I made such a big deal to the local media about walking on at Pitt when I was a kid,” Smead said. “But Penn State made the phone call, I listened to what they had to say and I did two interviews over Zoom. They called me again to tell me that I was a finalist for the job, and Luke gets hired in New Orleans. I’m thinking that they’d see the writing on the wall and back away knowing that I’d follow him there, but then I get offered two days after Luke’s press conference with the Pelicans.
“I figured that I couldn’t turn down Penn State again if I wanted to keep getting invited to family events, even if most of my recreational wear is Pitt gear.”
Smead, who was sporting a navy blue fleece quarter-zip over a white shirt and Penn State logo tie when meeting the media, has an ambition that exceeds what the university expects from him during the terms of his first contract at Penn State, reported to be a three-year deal with an average annual value of $600,000.
“The Big Ten is a tough place to win and win consistently, but I think our path to joining the conference’s best can be made pretty short with what we have here and if we can build some excitement in this program,” Smead said. “Penn State isn’t exactly a sleeping giant in terms of basketball, but I feel that we can get to where we want to be in a short amount of time, even if the university isn’t expecting that from us right now.”
Penn State – 11-14 this past season – likely won’t be listed very high in preseason conference predictions, the Nittany Lions rarely are. That reality hasn’t deterred Smead’s optimism as few experts in the country could even explain what type of team that Penn State will be under its new coach.
“We’re going to be ourselves,” Smead said when asked about the team’s philosophical approach. “I’m going to meet with the team to break down what we have coming back and what identity we can build. What you’ll see when we get deep into the season might differ from what we’re showing in non-conference games. There’s going to be a lot of learning in these next few months.”
His brother, who joined on conference call from Louisiana, offered some insight as his surprised younger sibling laughed.
“‘E’ is going to mess with the throttle stick so much,” Lucas Smead said. “One night, it might be the old '40 Minutes of Hell’ treatment, and on other nights they might keep it to 60 possessions or less. He’s got a weird brain when it comes to basketball and the hidden numbers in the game, and someone back home actually gave him the keys. He’ll certainly keep things interesting.”
The younger Smead, while still grinning from his brother’s unwarranted scouting report, noted that fluctuating tempos aren’t an indicator of potential changes in intensity.
“Effort is going to be a big part of what we do,” Smead said. “We’re not going to have some social-media motto to reflect it, but it’ll be woven into everything that this team does on and off the floor. We’re not trying to win Twitter with some preachy coach nonsense about doing something in a narrow-minded idea of ‘the right way,’ we’re out here to win enough basketball games that we can start hanging some banners around this place that say ‘champions’ and not ‘appearance.’”
April 30, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WS) – Growing up as a son of a Penn State University employee while enjoying a standout scholastic career in town at State College High School, Elijah Smead never imagined that he’d one day be the coach of the Penn State men’s basketball program.
It’s not that Smead’s credentials were lacking. Smead, a 1998 graduate at State College, received a fair amount of Division I interest while guiding the Little Lions to the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals as a sophomore.
After his collegiate career, Smead bounced around as a high school coach, finding moderate success at nearby Hollidaysburg Area before latching onto his brother’s staff overseas with Élan Sportif Chalonnais in the French pro basketball pyramid.
When Lucas Smead was recently hired as a coach by the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Elijah was almost assured a spot on his brother’s bench, likely as the team’s video coordinator.
Then Penn State came calling.
It was a shock to the 41-year-old, who grew up cheering for – and eventually walking on at – the University of Pittsburgh, shunning the Nittany Lions’ offer of a spot on the team over 20 years ago. Smead never made an appearance on the court for the Panthers, but he was on the proverbial observation deck to witness the program’s rise in the early 2000s.
The university introduced Smead to media and friends of the program on Friday, in what the new Nittany Lions bench boss – and birthday boy – called a “surreal event.”
“My late father, Geoff, who worked at the university for over 30 years, would have laughed at me taking this job after I made such a big deal to the local media about walking on at Pitt when I was a kid,” Smead said. “But Penn State made the phone call, I listened to what they had to say and I did two interviews over Zoom. They called me again to tell me that I was a finalist for the job, and Luke gets hired in New Orleans. I’m thinking that they’d see the writing on the wall and back away knowing that I’d follow him there, but then I get offered two days after Luke’s press conference with the Pelicans.
“I figured that I couldn’t turn down Penn State again if I wanted to keep getting invited to family events, even if most of my recreational wear is Pitt gear.”
Smead, who was sporting a navy blue fleece quarter-zip over a white shirt and Penn State logo tie when meeting the media, has an ambition that exceeds what the university expects from him during the terms of his first contract at Penn State, reported to be a three-year deal with an average annual value of $600,000.
“The Big Ten is a tough place to win and win consistently, but I think our path to joining the conference’s best can be made pretty short with what we have here and if we can build some excitement in this program,” Smead said. “Penn State isn’t exactly a sleeping giant in terms of basketball, but I feel that we can get to where we want to be in a short amount of time, even if the university isn’t expecting that from us right now.”
Penn State – 11-14 this past season – likely won’t be listed very high in preseason conference predictions, the Nittany Lions rarely are. That reality hasn’t deterred Smead’s optimism as few experts in the country could even explain what type of team that Penn State will be under its new coach.
“We’re going to be ourselves,” Smead said when asked about the team’s philosophical approach. “I’m going to meet with the team to break down what we have coming back and what identity we can build. What you’ll see when we get deep into the season might differ from what we’re showing in non-conference games. There’s going to be a lot of learning in these next few months.”
His brother, who joined on conference call from Louisiana, offered some insight as his surprised younger sibling laughed.
“‘E’ is going to mess with the throttle stick so much,” Lucas Smead said. “One night, it might be the old '40 Minutes of Hell’ treatment, and on other nights they might keep it to 60 possessions or less. He’s got a weird brain when it comes to basketball and the hidden numbers in the game, and someone back home actually gave him the keys. He’ll certainly keep things interesting.”
The younger Smead, while still grinning from his brother’s unwarranted scouting report, noted that fluctuating tempos aren’t an indicator of potential changes in intensity.
“Effort is going to be a big part of what we do,” Smead said. “We’re not going to have some social-media motto to reflect it, but it’ll be woven into everything that this team does on and off the floor. We’re not trying to win Twitter with some preachy coach nonsense about doing something in a narrow-minded idea of ‘the right way,’ we’re out here to win enough basketball games that we can start hanging some banners around this place that say ‘champions’ and not ‘appearance.’”