Lamont Smith said Wednesday he was "truly honored and humbled" to become the men's basketball coach at the University of San Diego, his alma mater.
"It's great to be home," Smith said at his introductory news conference at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. "I'm really excited to be back here."
Smith's hiring was announced Tuesday. He succeeds Bill Grier, who was fired March 16 after eight seasons when he guided the Toreros to a 117-144 record, including a 15-16 mark in the 2014-15 season.
Smith said he was "very confident" he can recruit the players to make USD competitive in the West Coast Conference, citing his recruiting success as an assistant coach at two WCC schools, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.
This is the first head coaching position for the 39-year-old Smith, who was associate head coach at New Mexico the past two seasons. He had also been an assistant coach at Washington and Arizona State.
Smith played for the Toreros from 1994-99, was team captain his final two seasons and twice was its defensive player of the year.
Ky Snyder, USD's vice president for athletics, said he was seeking a coach who would "embrace a values-based Catholic education," "increase and enhance our recruiting efforts and athleticism," "create a winning attitude and high expectations," "connect with our alumni, the campus community and the San Diego community" and "elevate our program to become a legitimate contender for the West Coast Conference championship."
The Toreros last won the regular-season conference championship in the 1986-87 season and has advanced to the NCAA tournament twice in the past 28 years, 2003 and 2008. Gonzaga has won or shared the regular-season conference championship 14 of the past 15 seasons.
