Episode 170: Karl Smesko, Offensive System and Shooting Psychology

Guest: Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast Head Coach

Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss his offensive system, shooting psychology and the things that helped him become one of the most successful coaches in women's college basketball history.

Karl Smesko’s resume sits among the best all-time in NCAA Division I women’s basketball as he enters his 22nd season on the sideline in 2020-21, including his 19th with the Green and Blue.

On pace to reach 600 career wins faster than legendary coaches such as Pat Summitt and Tara VanDerveer, Smesko has compiled a 554-122 record (.820) in his career, which ranks him as the third-winningest active Division I head coach behind Geno Auriemma (1,091-142, .885) and Kim Mulkey (604-101, .857). Furthermore, he passed VanDerveer (1,094-253, .812) in 2017-18 to become the fifth-winningest Division I head coach of all-time – behind Auriemma, Leon Barmore (576-87, .869), Mulkey and Summit (1,098-208, .841). If that isn’t enough, he is the 10th-winningest active head coach across all divisions, as well as the 12th-winningest such coach all-time.

Smesko has the Eagles on pace to shatter the NCAA's all-time Division I winning percentage record by the end of the 2020-21 season as his team is one of only two in the nation along with Tennessee (.801) with at least an .800 all-time winning percentage. In fact, FGCU is 493-95 (.838) since the program’s inception in 2002-03, which is easily the best winning percentage in the nation and also ahead of third-place UConn (.795), but the NCAA requires at least 10 years as a Division I program, and FGCU's four reclassification years (2007-11) do not count towards the 10-year minimum. Thus, Smesko and the Green and Blue will have to wait just a little longer to be recognized as the winningest Division I women's basketball program in NCAA history.

Breakdown

1:00 - 3-Point Shooting Philosophy

4:30 - Isolation and Space

7:00 - Knowing Own Strengths

10:00 - Getting Players in Space and Attack

13:00 - Ideas on Horizontal and Vertical Spacing

16:30 - Drive to Score

19:30 - The Concept of Waiting

23:00 - Convergence Concept

27:00 - Incorporating Stars on his Philosophy

29:00 - Player Development

33:00 - Isolated Skills Training for Shooting