A man named Puck

One word explains the success and working team dynamics of the Chico State University men’s basketball team: “Puck.”

No, it has nothing to do with the little black disk that hockey players slap around on ice. We’re talking Coach Prescott “Puck” Smith, the dedicated and distinguished figure on campus who’s delivered an outstanding round-ball team year after year while teaching his charges a thing or two not only about the game played out on the hardwood, but the one played in life as well.

“My experience in sports helped mold me and motivated me, and I want to return the favor to the players who play for me,” said Smith, who is beginning his 18th year at Chico State.

Being active in sports all through his own schooling helped Smith learn to do well in his studies and was a motivator for him to attend Southwestern Oklahoma State University, in the state where he grew up.

With hopes of pursuing a career in education, he landed a teaching job in Sacramento at a junior high school while also assisting the high-school basketball team. Drafted into the military during the Vietnam War, Smith would later return to earn a master’s degree at Oregon State University. He came to Chico 1987, accepting an offer to be head coach of the Division II basketball program.

After two decades, Smith has not yet felt the desire to leave Chico and said he has no plans to do so anytime in the near future.

“It’s important when you have a job to feel committed to the university and the community,” Smith said.

These commitments have enabled the coach to look at his team as more than just a means to win a championship and to run a program that includes people who have a desire to get a college education as well as play basketball.

“We certainly want to win, but we’re not going to compromise the mechanics of our program just to win basketball games,” Smith said. “We want the right character of people here, [those] who are committed to this community and this university and represent this university in a very positive way.”

Two of his players, Tim Haley and Will Bonner, agree that the coach has taught them responsibility and accountability and has helped make them into more honest individuals.

“Just being around him, you learn how to be a man,” Bonner said.

Haley took his teammate’s comment a step further. “He demands respect from everyone and he gets it,” he said.

During Smith’s tenure, the team has had its high moments and at other times struggled, but through it all Smith said he has tried to run a consistent program and address what being a student athlete is about.

His coaching principles focus on the individual talents of the players and having them play to their full potential while exhibiting a high degree of camaraderie and teamwork.

“If we can accomplish all those things, the winning and losing will take care of themselves,” Smith said.

Supporting a winning program is what fans are most concerned about. But a winning season isn’t always the reality, making some fans very angry.

“That’s part of the process, and I don’t take it personal,” Smith said. “If I can’t handle that kind of situation, I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I have in this profession.”

What the fans want to see is important, but it’s not as important as the quality of the program, he said.

“It’s a little frustrating because of the scrutiny that athletics is under in our society,” Smith said.

His philosophy on basketball is one of the best things about the coach, said former player and Assistant Coach Antone Curtis.

“He’s always the first to be here and the last to leave. He’s taught me hard work and a good work ethic,” Curtis said.

The relationships he has formed with his assistant coaches and his players represent the best part of coaching for Smith, but he knows his position and main focus is as a coach.

“My responsibility is not to be buddy-buddy with my players,” Smith said. “Any lasting relationship that I have with my players is going to happen after they play for me.”

Win or lose, his way of running the program has gained him the complete respect of his team and his assistants.

“I enjoy my job and all the things that come with it," Smith said. "When I’m ready to make a big change, it will probably be time for me to get out of this profession."