Introducing Big Blue Head Coach
Marc Smith "It is a privilege and an honor to be selected as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Millikin University. There is no better feeling than the thought of coming home and coaching basketball at a university that I highly repsect. My family is very excited about the opportunities that this position offers. We are anxious to meet and begin working with all of the people who are important to the program, including the student-athletes, campus community, the alumni and the Decatur community. The expectations for the men's basketball program are high and we will work diligently to meet those expectations." Coaching Experience... * Head Coach Keystone College in La Plume, Penn. * 2003-04: 24-4 Overall Record North Eastern Athletic Conference title and tournament championship * 2004-05: 22-7 Overall Record NEAC title and tournament championship * Assistant Coach Millikin University (1998 to 2002) * Assistant Coach Mount Union College (Ohio) * Assistant Coach Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) * Assistant Coach Ashland University (Ohio) Playing Experience... * Black Hawk Community College 1990 to 1991 * Defensive Player of the Year (1990, 1991) * Team Captain (1990) * Coaches Award recipient (1990) * Most Valuable Player (1991) * First-team All-Conference (1991) * NJCAA All-region (1990) * Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 1992 to 1993 * Defensive Player of the Year (1992, 1993) * Team Captain (1992) * Frank B. Turner Award (1992) * Education... * Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
* Masters of Education degree in Sports Science Ashland University (1996)
* Springfield (Ill.) Lanphier High School
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Philosophy of Coaching My goal as a Coach is to recognize and develop the physical, emotional and intellectual needs of my students. I recognize that my primary responsibility is to teach students the basic skills of the sport while promoting academic excellence and maintaining a standard of behavior with regard to college policy. I believe in order to be effective, I must be actively engaged in the learning process. I must also be fair, firm and consistent with my students. Bringing such qualitities into the environment makes for productive learning. I believe this same approach should be used with parents, faculty and staff as well. Defensive Philosophy Defense is the most important factor in winning any basketball game. We will employ a pressure man-to-man defense in the full and half-court. We will also use a couple of zones with man-to-man principles as alternate defenses. Offensive Philosophy The offensive system that we will use is one that takes full advantage of the skill sets of the players in the program. It must be fluid, flexible and effective. There are three components to our offense:
Transition: Our transition is designed to push the ball and attack the defense. Our goal is to get an uncontested lay-up on every possession.
Motion: Our motion game gives us a great deal of flexibility for offensive sets and areas to attack on offense.
Set Plays: Our set plays are designed to get a particular player an offensive look or to take advantage of the way the defense is playing our offensive sets. "We are extremely pleased that Marc Smith is returning to Millikin University and the Big Blue Basketball program. Coach Smith brings an up-tempo, pressure defensive style of play that will infuse excitement into the team, the fans and indeed the program," Athletic Director Lori Kerans said. "Coach Smith has a firm commitment to the Division III philosophy of the student-athlete experience. He will recruit a disciplined, unselfish athlete who will excel not only within the basketball program, but also academically and socially. His experience as a head coach, athletic administrator and faculty member will be valuable as he shapes the program into one that will be competitive within the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), arguably the toughest in the country."
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