Guest: Nolan Smith - Tennessee State Tigers Head Men’s Basketball Coach

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex speak with Nolan Smith.

Nolan Smith is a basketball coach and former professional player who currently serves as the head coach of the Tennessee State Tigers men's basketball in the Ohio Valley Conference. Smith first gained national recognition as a standout guard at Duke University, where he helped lead the Blue Devils to the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and was later named ACC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in 2011. He was selected 21st overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers and played professionally in the NBA and overseas before transitioning into coaching. After assistant coaching stops at Duke, Louisville, and Memphis, Smith became Tennessee State’s head coach in 2025. In his first season, he led the Tigers to a share of the OVC regular-season title, earned OVC Coach of the Year honors, and was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award and the Joe B. Hall Award. Smith also guided Tennessee State to the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship, securing the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament since 1994 and ending a 32-year tournament drought.

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