Smith’s successive season

Women’s basketball head coach returns to young team for a new year

Last spring, the women’s basketball head coach, Maurice Smith, led the Bobcats to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Southeast Regional Tournament.

For Smith, being a coach means being able to be a lot of different people.

“It’s a lot of responsibilities. Here at Georgia College we have to wear a lot of hats,” Smith said. “Not only managing the team, managing a budget, we have to handle player situations, because they’re students, they’re people and sometimes players go through life crises. Sometimes you have to be a counselor, sometimes you have to be a motivator, a disciplinarian. It comes with many different hats, but that’s probably one of the things I like most too. I can take off one hat and put on another.”

The players really love Smith as a coach.

“He explains things really well, he’s not like the typical coach to just say you do something wrong, get on the line sprinting. He’ll run you through it and show you what you’re doing wrong. I really respect him,” freshman guard Hollyn Phelps said.

Smith shows his passion for the game by coaching, but he attributes basketball to what helped him stay focused when he was young.

“Basketball was like a safe haven for me,” Smith said. “That’s why I fell in love with it, because it was not only a sport but something that really kept me focused, kept me on track to do the right thing.”

Coach Maurice, known to his team and most everyone else as Mo, grew up in College Park, Ga. and has been playing basketball since he was little.

“At 6 years old I had fat cheeks, a round stomach and a round basketball in my hand,” Smith said.

He played recreation ball in College Park until high school in Americus, Ga. It was at Americus that he earned his nickname Mo and it tuck with him.

“Nobody knows me as Maurice, everyone knows me as Mo,” Smith said.

After two years at Wallace Community College in Alabama, Smith came to GC in 1999 and played two years. Since then he has happily called Milledgeville “home sweet home.”

After being a graduate assistant coach for the men’s team and an assistant coach for the women’s team, Smith became the head coach for the women’s team last season and began his second season as head coach this year. His first season as head coach was a success as he led the team to a victory in the Peach Belt Conference Championship.

His favorite part of the job is getting to work with the players.

“My favorite part is really developing these young ladies holistically, not just on the basketball court, but in the classroom, in the community and just as a person overall,” Smith said.

He doesn’t have a coaching style that he can pinpoint or name.

“I wish I could pinpoint it exactly, to the detail, but I can’t. My philosophy is to make players, to help our players become the best they possibly can, to reach their full potential,” Smith said. “We’re trying to improve day-by-day and focusing on the process. The wins will take care of themselves; right now we’re just focusing on getting better and better every day.”

Freshman forward Jasmine Williams, described his coaching style as focusing on the basics.

“He emphasizes on the fundamentals. He likes to do a lot of drills,” Williams said. “He likes everything not perfect, but close to it.”

His goal for the team this season is to improve every day in some aspect of the game and become even better on the court.