Intro
Eddie Monares: 00:00 – 00:19
Hello, Gators! Welcome back to the Chomp podcast. My name is Eddie Monares and I’m a staff reporter with the Golden Gate Xpress. On this week’s episode, we have SFSU Women’s head basketball coach Natasha Smith on the show. We’re going to talk about the upcoming Gator season, her journey as a player and as a coach, a couple of WNBA topics and more. Let’s get into it.
Interview
Eddie Monares: 00:25 – 00:27
Hello, coach. Welcome to the show.
Natasha Smith: 00:27 – 00:28
Thank you for having me.
Eddie: 00:28 – 00:33
First question. Just want to know — your guys’ season starts soon. How’s the team looking? How’s everything going?
Smith: 00:33 – 00:55
We are looking improved, for sure. We added the right pieces. We got better from last year in the sense of the maturity in our development. It’s going to be a new style of basketball as far as what we do offensively, just to bring people together a little bit more and people will see us press teams a little bit more defensively. So it’s really exciting. Can’t wait.
Eddie: 00:55 – 1:00
And what is your excitement level for you as a coach, you know, have you changed anything coming off last season?
Smith: 1:00 – 1:20
Yes! We are going to be running the same offense that you see Stanford women’s basketball run, that’s what we’ll be doing. We’re going to still be playing man defense. My mentality going into this year is like, let them play a little bit more free than usual. So it’s a more relaxed kind of temperament.
Eddie: 1:20 – 1:31
It’s no secret, obviously, last season didn’t go as you planned probably. You know, what improvements are you trying to make? What are you changing? You know, what’s the mood of the team going into a season where you hope to improve upon last year?
Smith: 1:31 – 2:12
The overall thing is like, kind of getting the right people bought in and getting rid of the pieces that didn’t really work culture-wise. So some things that we’re changing is making sure that we’re getting people in the gym just a little bit more and mentally getting them tougher by like — we practice at 6 a.m. — so it’s just a mentality with everything that comes with that. And then they get in the gym and get extra shots and skill work. Like right now, we have small group meeting with my assistants going over film. So just really trying to make sure that our overall development is better.
Eddie: 2:12 – 2:18
I wanted to ask about you. You know, what was your journey as a player to get to, you know, the coaching level that you’re at now?
Smith: 2:18 – 2:58
Well, I fell in love with basketball by myself. I think that’s like a big thing on why I love it so much. You see so many kids today, their parents are trying to run it down their throat because of how much money they’re investing in them, and then how much money each sport can actually deliver you now with these whole NIL deals and things of that nature. So my basketball journey is odd compared to the common basketball player. I went to Chico State, so it’s in the conference, and it was just a little bit different from where I grew up, and I just needed it so I could just focus on the things that were more important.
Eddie: 2:58 – 3:01
And you’ve been playing for a while — since a kid, have you been playing?
Smith: 3:01 – 3:08
I’ve been playing since I was a kid. I don’t know how old but I know as soon as I found a basketball, I never let it go.
Eddie: 3:08 – 3:11
And what was your decision to become a coach?
Smith: 3:11 – 3:54
It happened pretty quick, like while I was at Chico State, you know, you start thinking about, what do I want to do with the rest of my life? And I just knew I didn’t want to work a regular job — like the coach I played for at the time, Molly Goodenbour — she’s the head coach at the University of San Francisco. I know she was talking to someone else and I overheard her say, “Don’t work a job for as long as you can.” And I took that to heart and I feel like I never have since I got into coaching basketball, because I love it so much and it’s just not a job. So somewhere between 19 [years old] is when I just knew I wanted to be a college coach and become a head coach before 30. And I did that.
Eddie: 3:54 – 3:57
And the coach at USF you were just referring to, I believe you were her assistant, right?
Smith: 3:57 – 3:58
I was an assistant, yeah.
Eddie: 3:58 – 4:02
And so what did she teach you about coaching that you’ve brought onto here at SFSU?
Smith: 4:02 – 4:44
She’s taught me a lot, actually, and I don’t think — I know a lot of people probably don’t give her enough credit. She allowed me the autonomy to become who I was going to be as a coach while I was working by her side. She taught me the importance of just being resilient and having a layer of toughness about you — also being able to just adapt. A lot of people — her past players, if they went to go watch, would probably be like, “This is not the same Molly that I played for.” ”She’s a little quote-on-quote softer.” And I think it just comes with being able to adjust and adapt to the players that you have in order to make things work.
Eddie: 4:44 – 4:54
And so entering your sixth season as head coach — how much excitement is there for that? And you know, what are your overall goals as a head coach? Do you want to go beyond San Francisco State or?
Smith: 4:54 – 6:10
It’s really exciting because I know how grateful or appreciative I should be of the opportunity that I have. There’s only 300 plus jobs that I get to have — so going into season number seven, I’m even more excited too, just for the simple fact that my stint here has been really long when you look at the track records of other coaches that have been in my seat as well. So I wake up every day with a bunch of gratitude and you can see it if you were to come to a practice at 6 a.m. I’m high energy and just remembering what my journey has been — I pray for this and I have it. So the end goal for me is just to continue to make history. You don’t see it in the record books but— you don’t see it in the win or lose column I mean, but you do see it in the record books. You see it in the graduation rate for first-time — — [first-generation] college students. You see it when we’re out in the community. We are really in the San Francisco community, and that is a huge win that not everyone understands. And as I became more mature, I’ve been able to recognize — continue to coach and get better, but also remember that the wins don’t just happen on the court.
Eddie: 6:10 – 6:18
I wanted to ask you a little bit about the state of women’s basketball. I think it’s actually at an all-time high and it’s even getting bigger with all the viewership. Just what are your thoughts on that?
Smith: 6:18 – 6:40
I agree. I think it’s becoming really obvious, like, I would say women’s basketball is knocking at the door but it’s like kicking the door in, like we’re making waves with the growth of women’s basketball. So it’s exciting, especially with the [Golden State] Valkyries getting their new head coach and about to be up the street. So it’s just a great time to be in sports.
Eddie: 6:40 – 6:54
Yeah, I was going to say, as an avid basketball fan, I really felt it last March Madness when — I really think the women’s side of the bracket had way more hype than the men’s [tournament] — what are your thoughts on the hype and the popularity of women’s basketball at the college level?
Smith: 6:54 – 7:21
Yeah, on the college level, I still feel like the fan base is just way better than pro — you have this loyalty with your college team that you just don’t see on a pro level, period — unless you’re talking about professional soccer. So it’s just exciting. That’s all I really got to say about it [that] it’s exciting because fans are really loyal to their teams and you could feel that intensity even while you’re just watching the game from home.
Eddie: 7:21 – 7:23
How much of a WNBA fan are you?
Smith: 7:23 – 7:53
I’m a cool fan. Like, I’m like a C fan. I think I can grow into being like a B-level, A-level fan, and it’s just because my job is so time-consuming that I look at their games objectively — I don’t get to really embrace it all the time like a fan. I’m trying to recruit and better our program. So maybe, once I feel like I figured this thing out for real, I can become a better fan of the WNBA. But I love it, though.
Eddie: 7:53 – 8:04
They also will have a historic rookie class and a historic viewership rise. You know, how close do you think WNBA is to becoming, you know, a big brand in American sports?
Smith: 8:04 – 8:28
I think it has exploded to being just that — we have to give credit to like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, but it’s going to be consistent for a while because you got the Dennis Rodman of women’s basketball and you got the Kobe [Bryant] slash Steph Curry and Caitlin Clark in basketball — they’re not going anywhere. So I think the momentum is going to continue to grow.
Eddie: 8:28 – 8:36
Speaking of those two, what were your thoughts on them? They had a historic rookie year — good rookie of the year battle — what were your thoughts on them and some of the other rookies that came to the league?
Smith: 8:36 – 9:35
I’m a really big fan of Cameron Brink that came out of Stanford and is Steph Curry’s godsister. It was sad to see her go down with an ACL tear, but as far as like Angel Reese, we got to see what it means to really be a dog. Now, college coaches or girls basketball coaches can point to someone in the WNBA or the league that looks pretty and goes to nice parties and stuff — that’s how you work hard. That’s how you go after rebounds. So she allowed and provided great examples for the youth and so did Caitlin Clark — she plays the game the right way. Her teammates are super involved. She’s an elite scorer, her deficiencies is defense but she makes up for it in the things that she’s great at, and that, again, is just a great example for all players to actually see you don’t have to be great at everything. You just need to be really good at what you’re really good at.
Eddie: 9:35 – 9:53
On a more serious topic revolving around those two. I know the WNBA had to make a statement — a couple of different statements — the Players Association had to make a statement about racist, derogatory remarks made throughout the season with this rise in viewership — what are your thoughts on that and what could they have improved? Or what could the WNBA have done better, maybe in this situation?
Smith: 9:53 – 11:03
I actually don’t think it’s that much of the WNBA’s responsibility, in the sense of like — their presidents and coaches can get a handle on it as well as they put out these posts and different things targeting it to let people know. But racism and being prejudiced and all that stuff has been a thing —you hear people like Sue Bird talk about it on social media and on platforms that she attends and it’s like… this isn’t new. It’s just the fact that there are so many more eyes on the WNBA and they know people are listening to Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark. So of course, they’re using them to advocate for women’s basketball and treating people as people, instead of judging them by the color of their skin. So I think they’re handling it the right way. I just think that it’s been a thing, and we don’t need to shine light on it in a way that makes it seem like this is brand new. I don’t know if that makes sense but —
Eddie: 11:03 – 11:09
Next, I want to ask about, you mentioned the Valkyries earlier, just what is your excitement level to have a WNBA team here in the city?
Smith: 11:09 – 11:40
Oh, I’m super excited for the simple fact that the Bay Area fans are like no one else. They have real energy being at games. We have a really true, diverse population in the Bay Area, and then people from Sacramento are going to come, people from Fresno are going to come and enjoy the WNBA and the experience that it provides for everybody. So I’m overly excited, and I hope they can hook us up, maybe with tickets or something — that would be cool.
Eddie: 11:40 – 11:43
Is there any way, you know, as the local college team, to build a connection with them?
Smith: 11:43 – 11:49
I think it is, but that’s like an administrative responsibility to hopefully be able to build that bridge.
Eddie: 11:49 – 11:53
What should Gator fans be looking out for this season from your team?
Smith: 11:53 – 12:37
They should definitely be looking out for a real balanced attack. But with [Alexsandra Alvarado] Alley — No. 2, Alley the gator — we can say that right now she’s going to be representing our university and our program in the best way you can see possible. She’s going to be defending the best player from the other team, night in and night out. She will leave San Francisco State being one of the most prolific scorers and so will Sage Bridges-Bey. She’s a prolific scorer as well. She just really knows how to play the game and [she’s] really efficient — almost like a female KD [Kevin Durant] but shorter, so it’s just going to be exciting, especially watching them lead the way.
Eddie: 12:37 – 12:46
And you mentioned Alley, No. 2. I believe I read she was on the Second Team All-CCCA. How does she build upon that this year and get even better?
Smith: 12:46 – 13:05
Well, she’s only a junior, so her hunger and development happened during the summer already. Right now, I think that everybody is already on standby for what she’s going to be bringing. She’s just a fierce competitor that is not going to let you have a day off.
Eddie: 13:05 – 13:11
Just wanted to get a couple of quick hitters in with you, maybe to just end the show. Favorite all-time basketball player?
Smith: 13:11 – 13:14
[Allen] Iverson and Kobe Bryant. We are going to go with two.
Eddie: 13:14 – 13:15
Women’s as well?
Smith: 13:15 – 13:25
If I had to say a women’s player, right now. I hate saying this but it’s Caitlin Clark because I know she’s a rookie, but Caitlin Clark.
Eddie: 13:26 – 13:27
Do you have a favorite all-time women’s player?
Smith: 13:27 – 13:32
All Time women’s player, I’ll go with Stewie, Breanna Stewart.
Eddie: 13:32 – 13:41
Speaking of her, just one more thing. You know, the WNBA finals are going on, game three tonight — series tied 1-1. What are your thoughts on that? Who do you got taking that?
Smith: 13:41 – 13:51
I have the New York Liberty because they also have a Bay Area-bred point guard, shooting guard in Sabrina Ionescu. So I’m for sure rooting for them. It’s going to be a battle, though.
Eddie: 13:51 – 13:54
Do you have a favorite moment in your coaching career so far?
Smith: 13:54 – 14:17
My favorite moment, there’s two. We played in the national championship game when I was at Southern Oregon. And number two would be when we found out, while I was a head coach here at San Francisco State, that we made the conference tournament. We felt like we made history for a minute, and we all jumped inside of the pool at the hotel in Humboldt and that was great.
Eddie: 14:17 – 14:19
You have a favorite moment of your own playing career?
Smith: 14:19 – 14:37
My own playing career. Favorite moment. I was just excited to always advance in the NCAA Tournament more than my peers, like in our conference. So I was like last man standing in the conference. Cool, you’re doing a good job.
Eddie: 14:37 – 14:41
Do you have any message to Gator fans who are coming out to see the team this season?
Smith: 14:41 – 14:52
My biggest thing that I have for the Gator fans is — we’re all in, we represent the university the right way. So just come out and show some support, and we’ll show it for you as well.
Outro
Eddie: 14:52 – 15:05
I’m Eddie Monares reporting for Golden Gate Xpress, thank you for listening and stay tuned for more episodes.