- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,151,930
- Reaction score
- 59
Even after Tennessee State basketball suffered one of the most lopsided losses in the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament, TSU coach Nolan Smith said he was pleased with the way his first year concluded.
No. 15 seed TSU trailed by 29 points in the first half and never came close to catching up with No. 2-seed Iowa State in a 108-74 loss in the first round of the Midwest Regional at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The 34-point loss was one point less than Penn's 35-point loss to Illinois (105-70) on March 19 and the same as Long Island's loss to Arizona (92-58) on March 20.
The whopping loss did not overshadow what TSU (23-10), which played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 32 years and only the third time ever, accomplished for Smith.
TSU CRUSHED BY IOWA STATE, 108-74: Tennessee State basketball crushed by Iowa State 108-74 in March Madness
"I'm just extremely proud of my guys and I told them in the locker room that they're legends," Smith said. "What they did for Tennessee State, for themselves, I'm just extremely proud of them. Obviously, this was not the way we wanted to finish score wise. But being here is something I want them to hold their heads up about. For my first year as a head coach I could not have asked for a better group of great young men, leaders, guys that bought into winning."
Smith, a former Duke star player, previously coached on the Blue Devils' staff as well as at Memphis and Louisville. He did not get the TSU job until after former TSU coach Brian Collins resigned in late July. He had three months to mold the Tigers into the type of team he wanted.
"With my staff not getting here until the end of July, (the players) didn't really like me at first, " Smith said with a smile. "But I think we're pretty close now."
Three of the five TSU players who started the NCAA Tournament game against Iowa (28-7) won't return for the 2026-27 season.
Nolan Smith did not shy away from talking about what it will take not only to keep Tennessee State basketball at the level it reached this season, but to go beyond.
He inherited a team with 13 returners and only brought in two newcomers − point guard Dante Harris from Memphis and forward Jalen Pitre from Sacramento State.
"I love building off winning; I'm obsessed with winning," Smith said. "So to be able to build off of this group, I'm excited to see what's next and how we get another group that's just like these guys that buy into winning, buy into being in March Madness consistently. This is where my staff and I want to be."
In particular, Smith said he is not looking to leave TSU.
"I'm building something special," Smith said. "Why wouldn't you want to continue to do what you just did? Why wouldn't you want to come back and repeat. Now I'm going to go have some conversations with my athletic director (Mikki Allen) and get this done so we can run this back."
Three Tennessee State players who started the game against Iowa State and three other key contributors won't be back in 2026-27.
That is why Smith said he won't waste any time starting the rebuilding process at TSU.
"This team set the bar," Smith said. "Now I have to go find the guys that fit this winning culture. When I first got this job, coach (Mike) Krzyzewski said the first thing to do was go find some players. I said, 'I think I've got some this year.' Now I've got to go find some like these guys."
That includes senior guard Aaron Nkrumah. He was the 2026 OVC Player of the Year and led TSU with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks against Iowa State.
Even with the season ending the way it did, Nkrumah said he was happy with his career.
"I'm blessed to be here with a great group of guys, a great coaching staff," Nkrumah said. "Honestly, I wouldn't rewrite my story any other way. These are my brothers and father-figures for life."
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What TSU basketball coach Nolan Smith said about future after NCAA loss
Continue reading...
No. 15 seed TSU trailed by 29 points in the first half and never came close to catching up with No. 2-seed Iowa State in a 108-74 loss in the first round of the Midwest Regional at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The 34-point loss was one point less than Penn's 35-point loss to Illinois (105-70) on March 19 and the same as Long Island's loss to Arizona (92-58) on March 20.
The whopping loss did not overshadow what TSU (23-10), which played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 32 years and only the third time ever, accomplished for Smith.
TSU CRUSHED BY IOWA STATE, 108-74: Tennessee State basketball crushed by Iowa State 108-74 in March Madness
"I'm just extremely proud of my guys and I told them in the locker room that they're legends," Smith said. "What they did for Tennessee State, for themselves, I'm just extremely proud of them. Obviously, this was not the way we wanted to finish score wise. But being here is something I want them to hold their heads up about. For my first year as a head coach I could not have asked for a better group of great young men, leaders, guys that bought into winning."
Smith, a former Duke star player, previously coached on the Blue Devils' staff as well as at Memphis and Louisville. He did not get the TSU job until after former TSU coach Brian Collins resigned in late July. He had three months to mold the Tigers into the type of team he wanted.
"With my staff not getting here until the end of July, (the players) didn't really like me at first, " Smith said with a smile. "But I think we're pretty close now."
You must be registered for see images attach
Three of the five TSU players who started the NCAA Tournament game against Iowa (28-7) won't return for the 2026-27 season.
Nolan Smith on TSU basketball: 'I'm building something special'
Nolan Smith did not shy away from talking about what it will take not only to keep Tennessee State basketball at the level it reached this season, but to go beyond.
He inherited a team with 13 returners and only brought in two newcomers − point guard Dante Harris from Memphis and forward Jalen Pitre from Sacramento State.
"I love building off winning; I'm obsessed with winning," Smith said. "So to be able to build off of this group, I'm excited to see what's next and how we get another group that's just like these guys that buy into winning, buy into being in March Madness consistently. This is where my staff and I want to be."
In particular, Smith said he is not looking to leave TSU.
"I'm building something special," Smith said. "Why wouldn't you want to continue to do what you just did? Why wouldn't you want to come back and repeat. Now I'm going to go have some conversations with my athletic director (Mikki Allen) and get this done so we can run this back."
What Mike Krzyzewski told Nolan Smith about getting a team to March Madness
Three Tennessee State players who started the game against Iowa State and three other key contributors won't be back in 2026-27.
That is why Smith said he won't waste any time starting the rebuilding process at TSU.
"This team set the bar," Smith said. "Now I have to go find the guys that fit this winning culture. When I first got this job, coach (Mike) Krzyzewski said the first thing to do was go find some players. I said, 'I think I've got some this year.' Now I've got to go find some like these guys."
That includes senior guard Aaron Nkrumah. He was the 2026 OVC Player of the Year and led TSU with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks against Iowa State.
Even with the season ending the way it did, Nkrumah said he was happy with his career.
"I'm blessed to be here with a great group of guys, a great coaching staff," Nkrumah said. "Honestly, I wouldn't rewrite my story any other way. These are my brothers and father-figures for life."
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What TSU basketball coach Nolan Smith said about future after NCAA loss
Continue reading...
