The Architect

Typical résumé guidelines tell you to use bullet points, be succinct with your thoughts and limit the document to one page. Pete Smith might have a problem with that last one. The boys basketball coach at Guerin Catholic High School in Hamilton County has a résumé that reads like an 11th grade history textbook. The main bullet points include playing for current Valparaiso University head coach Homer Drew at Bethel College in the early '80s, followed by high school coaching stints at Warsaw, Manchester, Noblesville, Penn, Carmel and now Guerin, where the Golden Eagles are a contender for the Class 2A Sectional 40 crown this season. He garners no shortage of honors as well, among them being named "Teacher of the Year" by the South Bend Tribune during his time at Penn. Smith also earned the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association "Coach of the Year" following an undefeated regular season at Manchester in '91. It's that experience that made him the perfect choice for a school looking to build a basketball program from scratch. Guerin Catholic, a private school located off of 146th and Gray Road in Noblesville, opened its doors four years ago. "We really had to start with the basics, because some of these kids had never played before," explains Smith. "We had to go all the way down to terminology." Smith tells the story of one practice early in that first year, when he kept telling a player to move out of the three-second lane. "He was just standing in there for the longest time - but it wasn't intentional, he just didn't know you only had three seconds to be in that area." The Golden Eagles don't seem to have any trouble with basketball concepts or hoops terminology these days. As of Feb. 18, Guerin's record stood at 15-3 - a quantum leap from a 9-13 mark in 2006-07. Based on the team motto, "Defense: As hard as it takes for as long as it takes," Guerin's held opponents to just under 55 points per game and have wins over larger schools like Class 4A's Zionsville and Pendleton Heights and Class 3A Brebeuf. Those wins speak volumes about the growth the team. Take the Pendleton Heights game, for example. Smith said he knew the game would be a good gauge for his players, since both teams' rosters were largely unchanged from a year ago, a game that Pendleton Heights won by 22 points. Smith has influenced his players in nearly every facet of the game, so when senior guard Sam Titus stepped to the line and hit a free-throw with five seconds remaining to secure a 39-36 win, he was just calmly doing what his coach had told him to do in that situation. "Just block everything out," says Titus, who was averaging 5.4 assists through Feb. 18. "Last year, we weren't very good at blocking things out and finishing at the end of games. So this year, there's been a focus on finishing strong and using past experiences as a learning tool." For Smith, that is in the job description of a coach - being around student-athletes, helping them develop and get better, either in the classroom or on the court, and leaving them with a lasting impression. It's a testament that Smith's assistants are former players, who continue to learn about life and hoops from their former coach. And since Smith has seemingly more degrees than a thermometer - in business, economics, vocational education and physical education - he knows how to motivate his players and get them to respond. "Coach is pretty loose before games," says junior Ryan Nowicki, who was averaging 15.9 points per game through Feb. 18. "And there are times when he'll take you out after a mistake and get your head back in it, but he rarely gets mad." "He does a little bit of everything," Titus says, smiling. "He tries to keep it light and let us have fun, but at the same time, he's serious about what we have to do." And Smith has put the Guerin program in the position of knowing what it has to do. After starting out in 2004-05 with only a freshman and junior varsity team, the Golden Eagles competed for a sectional title last season, falling to Park Tudor in the championship game, 50-48. It takes patience to build a program from the ground up. It also means you've got to work hard just to get games scheduled. There aren't many teams willing to play a new school in its first season or two. Smith contacted several of his coaching brethren and asked for a chance to compete. "I've got to thank all those coaches and athletic directors who scheduled us for varsity games and scrimmages," Smith says, with sincerity. "You can't be competitive and get better if you don't play." If this season is any indication, Guerin hasn't had any trouble being competitive. In fact, it could be quite the opposite. On Jan. 26, the Golden Eagles set a school record for points in a 105-51 victory against Oldenburg Academy. A year ago to the day, Guerin has squeaked out a 56-51 win over Oldenburg. It's that kind of progress that led to an announcement last fall that Smith would be stepping down at the end of this season, as he accepted the role of Indiana director of the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Games. But early last month, Smith had a change of heart: He couldn't leave his team. "I just enjoy coaching these kids so much," Smith says of his decision to stay at Guerin. "I want to be here until my services are no longer needed." His players are certainly happy about his decision. "It meant a lot to have him back, since he's been with us since the beginning," expresses Nowicki. "He developed everything here." Smith says the deep connection he built with his players over the past four years tugged at him internally. After all, he's been the only coach most of them have ever known. And he realizes that he's making a profound impact on their lives, which is the reason he's coaching in the first place. "The moment I knew we were doing something special here was when we took the current seniors, back when they were freshmen, and we took a bus up to Notre Dame, showed them the highlights of the campus and to a game that night," Smith begins. "And I remember that as we were leaving for South Bend, they sort of laid out on the bus and thought they were just going to sleep the whole time. Well, that's not really what I had in mind." Smith began a discussion, asking his players what schools they would be attending and what they would be doing at that moment if they weren't at Guerin. "None of them said they would be playing basketball," says Smith. "And they said they would probably be hanging out with the wrong crowd at their old schools, because they didn't have an activity or something that would keep them out of trouble. It was eye-opening, because these kids knew they needed to come here because of what the school stands for and for the opportunity to be a part of something." That moment wasn't lost on Titus, either. "I came to Guerin knowing that I could play any sport I wanted to, whereas if I had stayed at Carmel, I probably would have been cut," says Titus. "That was attractive to myself and my teammates, obviously." So here is Smith, a man who has coached McDonald's All-American games. A man that has roomed with John Calipari at coaching clinics; a man who's been a long-time coaching staff member at Dean Smith and Roy Williams' Carolina Basketball School. He's also a man who's heavily involved with the Five-Star Basketball Camp in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he was enshrined, along with Michael Jordan, into the camp's Hall of Fame last summer. And now, a man choosing to stay at a relatively new Class 2A school in Central Indiana. What can Smith say? He enjoys helping the Eagles fly. Just another thing he can add to the résumé.