Honing in on Karl Smesko from FGCU…as a season ticket holder at FGCU I can tell you he would be a great hire and is a proven winner at the mid major level and could definitely get it done here at Pitt…fingers crossed for Karl.
Womens coach update..looks like they are
- Thread starter pittizit
- Start date
Yeah, looks like a decent hire. I don't know much about him though.
PSN reported that Pitt couldn't come to terms with the UMASS guy.
Wow. Karl Smesko...that does look like it would be a great hire.
He's been at Florida Gulf Coast for 20 years; started when they were Division II and he took them to the D2 national title game in 2007. They began transitioning to D1 and joined the Atlantic Sun in 2008 and immediately finished second in the conference and received WNIT berths the first four years even though they weren't only provisional members and weren't eligible for the conference tournament. Their first year of full D1 eligibility, 2012, they went undefeated in the the Atlantic Sun and have won that conference regular season every year since except once. They won their conference tournament 10 of the 12 years. They've been in the NCAA or WNIT every year except the COVID year.
He has the third highest winning percentage of any coach in the NCAA (behind only Auriemma and Mulkey) and FGCU is now the winningest team in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history at .845. They went 33-4 this year and lost to Villanova in the 2nd round of the NCAA touranment.
I honestly think this may be a better hire than Verdi.
He's been at Florida Gulf Coast for 20 years; started when they were Division II and he took them to the D2 national title game in 2007. They began transitioning to D1 and joined the Atlantic Sun in 2008 and immediately finished second in the conference and received WNIT berths the first four years even though they weren't only provisional members and weren't eligible for the conference tournament. Their first year of full D1 eligibility, 2012, they went undefeated in the the Atlantic Sun and have won that conference regular season every year since except once. They won their conference tournament 10 of the 12 years. They've been in the NCAA or WNIT every year except the COVID year.
He has the third highest winning percentage of any coach in the NCAA (behind only Auriemma and Mulkey) and FGCU is now the winningest team in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history at .845. They went 33-4 this year and lost to Villanova in the 2nd round of the NCAA touranment.
I honestly think this may be a better hire than Verdi.
Last edited:
He’s turned down multiple jobs, including USC in 2017 and Illinois a year or two later.
He built the FGCU program literally from scratch - they didn’t have a gym when he was hired. I’m sure there’s been an attachment there for quite a while. They also pay him pretty well - I think he only made about $100,000 or so less than what Pitt was paying White.
I think this is as close to a coup as Pitt could get. If we have the money, pay the man.
Money doesn't seem to be his sole objective. Perhaps he wants the challenge of a higher level build in arguably the top power conference. Moving from Ft. Myers to Pittsburgh could be a tough sell though. Lyke's going to have to put on a big charm offensive.
Last edited:
I think they should take the money that they had earmarked for Capel’s buyout since last offseason and spend it on this guy.
60th in the country at $324,000
Analysis: The FGCU women's basketball program has to reload players, and maybe a coach?
The Eagles finished 30-3 but will lose almost 65 percent of their scoring. And could this be the year coach Karl Smesko decides to move on from FGCU?
www.naplesnews.com
Ok, I was wrong - White made about double that. I’d still guess that Smesko was close to the top for low/mid majors, though.60th in the country at $324,000
Analysis: The FGCU women's basketball program has to reload players, and maybe a coach?
The Eagles finished 30-3 but will lose almost 65 percent of their scoring. And could this be the year coach Karl Smesko decides to move on from FGCU?www.naplesnews.com
Sounds like Smesko would be a good hire. I read where his teams are very heavy on shooting threes…
Go Pitt.
Go Pitt.
Unfortunately, Ft. Myers got blasted by Hurricane Ian last year. A lot of destruction. I was randomly at a doctors appt and an older couple were checking out the tourney scores. I asked who they followed and said their team was FGCu women. Loved them and felt very underseeded this year. Sure enough with the 12-5 upset.
Hmm, it’s like his 4th? P5 offer over the years? And he keeps returning? Sounds like he’s happy there but has a good agent.
FGCU women's basketball coach Karl Smesko reportedly offered Pitt job
FGCU women's basketball coach Karl Smesko has reportedly been offered the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh.
www.naplesnews.com
Also, prior to FGCU, he led Walsh (Canton, OH) to the NAIA National Championship and was the NAIA Coach of the Year.
Reminds me of Dan Fisher.
Reminds me of Dan Fisher.
And when Florida invades Georgia probably no one will go to Florida to play basketball any more.
And I mean either Georgia!
There are reports out there now that Tory Verdi from UMass met with his players tonight to tell them that he has taken the Pitt job.
PG reports Verdi was the third choice after Robyn Fralick (from Bowling Green who opted for Michigan State) and Smesko who is staying at FGCU.
Have to say, I'm disappointed not to get Smesko now since that would have been the closest thing to a home run hire Pitt could have hoped for, but he seems in no hury to leave FGCU, so likely would wait for better options than Pitt's program, with the state it is currently in, so it shouldn't be surprising.
UMass' Tory Verdi will be Pitt's new women's basketball coach
The University of Pittsburgh will hire UMass’ Tory Verdi as its next women’s basketball coach. The school made the announcement Friday morning. Verdi will bring to Pitt a wealth of experience as a head coach and assistant on the high school, collegiate and WNBA levels. The Minutewomen improved...
triblive.com
That said, Verdi was an OT loss away from back-to-back NCAA appearances and is more proven than White, McConnell-Serio, or Waites were when they were hired, not that any of those three had results we'd want to be anywhere near.
Seems like a solid hire with a proven record of building a programs.
Last edited:
I don't think "probably near" is the right way to put it. The only reason that Pitt isn't "near" the bottom would be if you were arguing that it was AT the bottom.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
Recruiting Article Pitt hosting an international prospect- Latest: Run 'n' Shoot
-
-
