19. Blake Smart - Memphis

James Boone: I'm not a partial person. Swing State University, we're we we don't show partiality here on this podcast. Whenever Anthony DeSchutter came on the pod and claimed that his go to spot after after a tournament round was Freddy's and and not Chipotle, we didn't rake him over the coals. No, no, he's he's still in the fold. you know, two episodes ago we had a pretty controversial guest on in Easton Key, head coach of Austin Peay State University. Controversial not on a on a broad scale, but controversial from a sense of, hey, I graduated from Murray State. that's kind of our that's kind of our rival, Arch nemesis. I don't show partiality whenever we have people on the show. There is one instance where partiality is going to be shown, and that's if if your family You know, if you're friends, like you're probably gonna get on the show. The the third one that I am showing complete partiality is if you are a resident of the nine one. If you think the city of Memphis is the most beautiful land in all the world, then
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: you've come to the right place in Swing State University, founded in Memphis, Tennessee. This past spring we had Diego Lourenco then junior, now's now going to be a senior. At the University of Memphis, had him on the show, on the heels of him winning the American Athletic Conference Championship, and then him and the Tigers going on to competing at regionals and then at the NCAA nationals this past spring. And so it's with great, great honor that we have another resident of the city of Memphis. the person who led that team, the person that's led the charge for the last decade at the University of Memphis. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Swing State University. Head coach of the Memphis Tigers, Blake Smart
Blake: Thanks, James. Happy to be here.
James Boone: Blake, we'll start here. You've had this point two decades of experience in collegiate coaching at the D1 level, but started at Berry College up in Northwest Georgia, Rome, Georgia. was an all-American player there, which if if you are listening to the podcast and have never visited Berry College, very you know, very small liberal arts school, one of the most beautiful campuses. in the country, frankly.
Blake: Some would say THE most beautiful.
James Boone: it's a really, really cool spot. had a very successful career there. got on and did did some grad school, was an assistant coach there for a couple of years, and then very quickly jumped up in the ranks. Whenever Kennesaw State was making the jump to Division One, Coach Blake Smart got asked to take the reins of the Owls. was there for three years, recruited a couple of all Americans, and then started a really cool journey at the University of Oklahoma with Coach Hybl University of Oklahoma at the time was not the Oklahoma that you know now. Coach Smart and Coach Hybl took the Sooners from outside of top one hundred ranking all the way down to top twenty and being a perennial mainstay at the Division One level. Then from there moved to Memphis, Tennessee, God's country, and for the last twelve, thirteen years has been leading the Tigers. Coach Blake, I want to start here with this question. whenever you were, you know, an all American player at Berry if you were to project what your life would have looked like the journey that you've been on, did you even think you were gonna get into coaching? What did that look like whenever you were a senior at at Berry College?
Blake: Yeah, I mean, great question. so I was I was looking to get married, I was trying to make money, I wanted to go to grad school for for free. That was really top of mind. I think I think I just said it yesterday, Coach Jackson and and myself are probably the most blue collar coaching staff in the country. It I'd I'd be hard pressed to think of someone that's more so just where we grew up, small towns, you know. Great childhood, certainly no complaints at all. But from a golf standpoint, maybe didn't have the most resources. And that's how you wind up at a at a Berry College. You know, I was I was a really good student. I worked really hard at golf, but didn't have a lot of world knowledge when it came to what really existed out there. So I played my first AJGA about two weeks before school started, and I believe at the time a kid shot 63, and I I in trouble so yeah, wanted to study and and be smart and make some money so wound up in coaching. Different decision.
James Boone: how much of that, you know, awareness of the junior golf scene at the time do you think it just like you said, product of growing up in a small town where I mean the early two thousands, you know, late nineties, I don't know if how much coverage there was of the game at that point. Obviously it's kind of boomed over the last few years, but even just awareness of what tournaments to play in it probab the landscape probably looked a little bit differently.
Blake: Yeah, I mean very limited. I yeah, again, some of it was resource driven. I you know, the state of Georgia is is a hotbed. you know, Coach Hybl that I wound up working for was the number one player in the country. there were guys like Chris Mickelson, you know, some big names that that turned out to be really good college players. So you knew there was another level out there, but getting access to it was a little bit difficult for me. So But yeah, I think, you know, as college went on and and the game got harder in some respects and then just sort of was watching the landscape around the bigger schools and I I sort of realized where I sat in the grand scheme of things and like I said started to study a little bit harder and certainly low still love competing and and to this day I I can't stand losing, so that has always been there. But yeah, you gotta have access, you gotta you gotta have knowledge that things exist and then then obviously resources in this game do go a long way.
James Boone: you said, you know, getting getting access to an education, that was a big driver of your decision. But at the end of the day, obviously you had that economics business degree, you ended up getting your MBA, but you you still remain in the golf industry. You know, you didn't make a pivot, you're you're not selling insurance. you know, w
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: what opportunities were afforded to you? why you know, why did you end up, you know, coaching at Berry? And then, you know, once the opportunity came came at KSU, Obviously that's an incredible jump to go from being you know, being an assistant to being ahead at a division one program. But, you know, what kept you in the industry do you feel like?
Blake: Well I I I love my story of I was of sitting in a grad grad school class. It was called career management. It was essentially how to sell yourself and get a job. And the professor said, Sometimes you have to let people know that they need you, they might not know yet. And I was like, that's an interesting thought. I'd never never really gotten there in my head. I was kind of enjoying the college golf thing as a coach. And so I I saw that Kennesaw State was about to transition to Division One. And so I just simply reached out, you know, resume, email, the whole thing. Just like, hey, I'd be interested in in helping with the transition. If you're looking for a coach, I'm available. Got a response. He was like, no, we're good. We have a coach. Thank you. Fast forward probably two months later, guy reaches back out randomly, says, Hey, we've had a coach leave and we're looking Or something. I've already got your info. We've already had a a chat. Why don't you come down and and let's see if this is something you want to do. So pretty cool to just, you know, sitting in a class and you know, this is back in the day when you couldn't really be looking at your phone. There was nothing else to do but actually listen to the professor and thank goodness that I did, because it turned
James Boone: You were locked in.
Blake: into it turned into huge opportunity. And when I say opportunity, you know, another lesson of it was fifteen thousand dollars a year, no benefits. I lived an hour away, so my first year at Kennesaw I commuted an hour every single day for fifteen grand. And fortunately at the time, you know, I was I was newly married, but my partner had a had had a job that we could figure it out. And so I got the call in an IKEA in Atlanta asking if I wanted to be the coach. Legitimately put the guy on hold for a second, looked at her, she said, Go ahead. I was like, Cool, let's do it. And yeah, that was twenty two years ago. Or twenty years ago now.
James Boone: That is a a brilliant takeaway. It's kind of the idea of closed mouths don't get fed. And and there's there's what could you possibly lose of you throwing your name in the hat?
Blake: Sure, I mean, you know, I always said, you know, I can go be a banker. So I felt like the risk was ultimately pretty low. how long could I have sustained that without, you know, getting to a full time position and and making a little bit more money? I don't know. So everything came together pretty quickly and like I said, I mean, those are stories that you kinda can't can't make up. It's it's almost meant to be.
James Boone: Yeah, for sure. on one hand it's a incredibly it's gotta be exhilarating. Hey, you know, I I threw my name in this hat, I got this opportunity, KSU's transitioning to the D1 level. I'm about I'm about to be a division one head coach, but then on the other hand, you know, you're twenty-four, twenty-five years old and haven't been a head coach before. And obviously you were, you know, a excellent junior player and amateur player. you know, what was your first step? What's first order of business whenever you get on campus and you're saying, Hey, I'm a head coach of this of this team, what do you do?
Blake: well I can tell you my my ego was not in check. I think my oldest player
James Boone: Ha ha.
Blake: was like six months younger than me. they had I was the fourth coach in a year for those young men, which is not fair to them. And so I'm sure they thought I was gonna be there for a hot second and so we we definitely had some big time headbutting. I've always been kind of a disciplined first person and that so that was my first order business was just getting control of of the chaos and Yeah, we we a lot of crazy stories that first year, guys, you know, kind of bucking up against me and me not handling it very well and all things that were, you know, part of the learning when you're that age. So yeah it was it was sort of head first into what do I do recruiting, what do I do schedule-wise. Now I also will say while I was at Berry, kind of rapping back into Coach Hybl's story of he was the assistant at the University of Georgia, reached out and they were looking for people to come work golf camp. he said it was like six hundred bucks or something. I think for six hundred bucks I'll do just about anything at this point. So, you know, spending a week in Athens, just being a worker, listening, picking up bleachers, doing whatever was was asked of me and and that also wound up playing a a really big part in in my history of being able to pick up the phone and and talk to Coach Hack. you know, getting into some tournaments that we probably had no business getting into and it was all just I'd say relationship based, but you know, one thing I I learned early on is when someone gives you an opportunity, you work your ass off for them. Whether it's for money, for nothing, they've given you opportunity to learn and grow and and be in their sphere of influence. You show show everything you got and work really, really hard to the point of exhaustion, 'cause there's a lot of a lot of early days for sure. where I went to bed pretty tired. But yeah, all those stories start to come together but they a lot of them center on just w working really hard.
James Boone: The the piece you said about, you know, gaining trust or establishing, you know, discipline and processes. Hey guys, this is the way that we're gonna operate, this is what we're gonna do. It's probably a lot easier for you now twenty years down the road in your career than it was three weeks into your career, you know, trying to establish some credibility and you know I c I could see a college kid at that point being like, Well, hey, yeah, you are six months older than I am, you know.
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: Who are you to come in and and and do that? So but to your credit it sounds like you're able to move things in a pretty cool direction, recruit some really talented players. What what were some of the keys that you had to s to success in being able to recruit that first f couple classes? Like you said, Georgia's a hotbed, you know, where'd
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: you look to recruit some of your first players at KSU?
Blake: Yeah, I think, you know, at that time it was, you know, we weren't even postseason eligible. So you're trying to talk kids into that. You know,
James Boone: Wow.
Blake: most of my phone calls at the time were, you know, where is Kinnesaw when I would introduce myself. And so
James Boone: Ha ha ha.
Blake: it was tough. Georgia, again being a hotbed, I was I was trying to sort of get into that second tier, maybe even third tier Georgia kid and that I d identified as someone who could get better. And then pretty early on I was I was comfortable. With going with some international stuff, and so that worked out with a guy named Jeff Carlson, who was a Swedish kid who turned out to be really, really good. And then we had a a kid from s South Georgia, Matt Nagy, that wound up playing in the US Open and being a really nice player too. And and so just sort of being open to to all of it from wherever and and building it at the pace that it needed to be built. I mean, I you know, we all things to be really fast but just trying to find good fits and you know everywhere I've been, whether you know, an Oklahoma or a Memphis or Kennesaw or Berry, it's you you gotta find kids that wanna be there.
James Boone: Yeah, for sure. And Kennesaw, Marietta, not probably not as built up as it is as it is today. It feels like there's a decent amount going on. Yeah, valid. That's that's valid.
Blake: No, there was still traffic on that hour drive, but not as bad as that. Yeah.
James Boone: That's valid. That's valid. similarly to the opportunity that opened up at KSU to get you from from Berry to there. obviously like you were kind of knocking on doors, you know, you're putting feelers out. But, long term, did you have any inkling of of where you'd end up next? Were you willing to go anywhere? Obviously, you know, you were willing to relocate pretty far from home. but, you know, how did how did the OU thing come about?
Blake: Yeah, I think I was I was interested. you know, the OU part was was about Coach Hybl and, you know, we had grown up playing golf against each other and had reconnected at golf camps and then he went on to to try to play professional. Long story short, winds up a as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma and I sent him a message asking if he needed an assistant and he responded with yeah, who you got in mind and I responded with me. so that kicked off a conversation because you know we were fairly comfortable with each other and he I think he was back in Georgia at the time and we wound up meeting at a a steak and shake somewhere and and chatting about the job and and what it was gonna entail. 'Cause at that time, you know, I was at a small liberal arts school. Kennesaw State's a big university, but there was no football at the time. you know transition into D1 and so I knew if
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: if I wanted to do it as a career, I sort of needed some understanding of what a big time athletic department was. Like what does it mean when you have football? What does it mean when you're on
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: that national stage and carrying around a big brand? Is that something I even wanted? I mean that was part of the discovery of it too. So Yeah, I but I did, I will be fair. I really enjoyed Kennesaw and and obviously really close to home and you know, I went to my athletic director. I can say this now 'cause it's been a long time, but I went to him, I think I was making like thirty two thousand dollars and I said, If you get me to forty grand, I'll stay and he said win a conference championship just flat out. And so was like, Okay, great. And so I you know, relieved myself of that situation and headed over to Oklahoma. So people love winners and and I hadn't done enough in his eyes at that point. So great opportunity. I mean it wasn't it wasn't a hard decision. Now moving across the country and and taking on that risk 'cause, you know, Oklahoma I think we were a hundred and fifth in the country when when we got there as a staff. So it was not some slam dunk guarantee. the brand had taken quite a hit and it we were there to to rebuild it.
James Boone: Yeah, and it's hindsight is twenty twenty and to look at the trajectory of both of y'all's careers where Coach Hybl takes one of the most prestigious jobs in the country though over the summer. It you know, it just looks like, obviously like, you know, they were gonna have all this tremendous success. But as you mentioned, outside the top one hundred, you know, this same question that I asked you about KSU whenever you guys, you know, you know, whenever you got on campus, like what what is first order business whenever you're trying to restore? a program like that to prominence whenever you get to Oklahoma.
Blake: You know, then obviously I went there to learn sort of that question and Coach Hybl had never been a head coach. And so I think I brought a little bit of a skill set of of some day to day things. obviously he'd been to the University of Georgia was very settled in what he wanted to do. but I think he trusted me to like, Hey, go take care of this. He didn't have to babysit me, I was gonna be able to go and and and knock stuff out. and then it was just about being on the road. I mean he set a precedent from day one about toughness and culture and he's I think probably certainly a top five culture builder in the country. and that that may be softballing it there. But his ability to identify talent is unbelievable. and I've got stories about guys that maybe I didn't believe in that wound up being great. and so i you know, hard work, dedication, no no sort of BS. Like look yourself in the mirror and and tell yourself the truth and you know, just holding guys ac accountable and and inside of all that still like I think I have a lot of great memories. We had a lot of fun. But there are a lot of, you know, tense moments and real conversations and I think those things can can coexist and that's something I've really tried to to bring to Memphis and just sort of that, hey, we c we can be serious, I'm gonna tell you the truth, you're not always gonna like it. You're welcome to do the same thing to me. but we're also gonna like, you know, yuck it up and have some fun and make fun of each other and some jabs, especially if I'm putting good on the putting green.
James Boone: Yeah. Yeah. thinking thinking of the two of you guys being, mainstays, in college golf and it have been that way for for twenty years. You guys have earned that right. But whenever you guys were, you know, at OU, you just alluded to it, but what what did the conversations look like? Whenever you were like, Hey, I I feel really strongly about this recruit, you know, be but maybe him as the head, you know, maybe said no. Like can you explain, you know, the inner workings of, being at a top flight program, but then the inner workings of the assistant coach, head coach dynamic at that level.
Blake: Yeah, and I I mean i you know, I think you can only speak to what you know, so I don't know how it works everywhere. I think we had a lot of really good conversation. I mean, early on we were trying to get home runs. we had you know, Cory Wits it was committed to Alabama and we got him to come on campus for a visit. We were trying to get, you know, a a guy from Oklahoma State to come down. We I mean we were we were working hard, we were doing everything the right way, but it was just a pure grind. You know, th that was the days of Taylor Moore who played on the PJ Tour, Wyndham Clark we were trying to get, Sam Burns we were trying to get. So about every time they put the T in the ground, one of us was standing there. trying to figure out how to pull that off because they were all gonna be really big deals if we could. Ultimately we were 0 for a bunch on those guys and we wound up finding guys in the creases and guys that wanted, again, wanted to be there, were willing to work really, really hard. it all kicked off. Ultimately our guy that we got was Abraham Ancer who wound up, you know, being a top twenty player
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: in the world. Great dude, played for us for three years. He was you know he's the best JUCO player in the country and and we were able to get him after a year from Odessa honorable mention all American his sophomore year right out of the gate. And so Abe kicked it off for us and then a part of that was the the Brad Dalke era of committing a twelve year old to
James Boone: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blake: come play golf. and and that's you know, there's a lot of stories there. He was a legacy obviously with with mom and dad and granddad. all being sooners. So yeah, just you know, it all has to come together. And you you know, guys that I thought were gonna be okay college players like I mean Michael Schoolcraft, which no one's probably really heard of, but he he played in four national championships. You know, showed up at a program that who knew which way it was really going to go and wound up playing four times at a national championship. So really cool, right? And and a lot of guys like him that that bought in and we wound piecing stuff together and and being a really nice team that played really hard.
James Boone: with Brad committing at twelve years old, you know, what were the conversations like? Like were you were you in the room on a lot of those? Were you having those conversations? Feel free to share share what you can. Yeah.
Blake: Yeah, it's just kinda crazy, like are yeah, are we gonna do this? Is this real? Or we or I I remember
James Boone: Yeah. Yeah.
Blake: really specifically, it was really close to when we were getting ready to, you know, sort of make the offer or whatever you wanna call it, like wrap this thing up and a kid, I don't remember who it was, but a twelve year old committed to USC to be a quarterback and that went across the ticker line on ESPN we're like, okay, well, it didn't give us permission. I mean we still ran it. I mean we ran it up the food chain to make sure everyone was was good. but I do remember he you know he committed and seeing it go across like a Yahoo sports ticker and kinda having that
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: crap moment of you know What have we done? Like Pandora's box is is officially open. Now we weren't the only school going
James Boone: Yeah. Wow.
Blake: out and watching twelve year olds play. It was a different time. kids could commit any time they wanted to. So but it was wild and and he was awesome. I mean, he he won he won the Thunderbird as a twelve year old. So an AJGA invitational as a twelve year old, that was more than Tiger, Jordan, all those guys. So I mean it was it was a no brainer, but also a little bit scary.
James Boone: Yeah. Yeah. Thank goodness y'all have the benefit of USC having some first mover advantage to make it a little bit less taboo. But
Blake: Yeah. I I'll have to go look up and see who that was. I I I really can't remember, but I assume they wound up
James Boone: Yeah, right.
Blake: being
James Boone: You know, obviously it is it's fascinating for a twelve year old to make a commitment to make s you know, such a big decision. I think the more fascinating piece of that, obviously his parents were legacies, but the fact that he still honored that commitment. A lot can change in in a six year amount of time. I mean that's that's an eternity. That's a that's literally a third of his life would pass by before he he got on campus in Norman which is crazy.
Blake: Well, and I never coached him. So, you know, it was
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: such a big part of my time there was, you know, recruiting him, having hi his family around, being around a Brad who's a great kid, family is awesome. but to never get to coach him was was pretty hard. I was pretty excited.
James Boone: Sure. Sure. Well, kind of along those lines, you kind of you know, offered up the segue, like, you know,
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: there there's probably a piece of you that, you know, if if I'm a head coach at KSU, I'm in a you know, I fill in you know, fill the role of an an assistant. There's probably an inkling of you that's always like, Hey man, I I'm ready to kinda have the reins of my own team again. Was that kind of what you know what what led you to pursuing the opportunity at the University of Memphis?
Blake: Yeah, I mean carrying around, you know, the big OU logo was was a huge opportunity as an assistant and and obviously we were doing some things well and and I wound up getting quite a few interviews. And so I think OU wound up being like
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: my ninth interview. In hindsight, I probably wish I would have done fewer interviews. That being said, you get better at them the more you do, and you learn a lot about yourself and what people are looking for and and how to make the sell at the end of the day. So a lot of interviews, but yeah, I knew, I mean, I wasn't doing all that for fun and and to hang out and be an assistant forever. So I wanted
James Boone: Right.
Blake: to do my part and help help Coach Hybl get that thing rolling, and then whenever that opportunity came. game to to find a good spot because I I interviewed at some crazy places, you know, geographically relative. So I'm very in hindsight I'm very happy about some of the jobs I did not get. And there were a couple that stung a little bit, but ultimately I think the timing of of Memphis and when it came available and and ultimately getting it and where I was in my career, it all really worked out you know, in a in a great way for me.
James Boone: What what was your initial perception of the city of Memphis? This was, you know, early early twenty tens.
Blake: Yeah, so I you know, I being a Georgia guy and being in Oklahoma, I would drive through Memphis, you know, for holiday or going back for Christmas or whatever. So Memphis was sort of the halfway point. So like a lot of people's experience with Memphis, I would stop at you know, at at a hotel and that's where we'd stay the night and at the time I didn't make very much money, so maybe we didn't stay at the nicest places or or you
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: know, which can give you a perception that
James Boone: Sure.
Blake: dumb on my part for being in those places. But didn't didn't really know much about it. I mean, I think there were also a few like sit not sitcoms, but television shows that had been around Memphis at that time too. So knew a few things, sort of knew how it sat on the river and and that it is a a big hub for a lot of things. And but yeah, no, I when I even when I came on my interview, dude, I went straight to the Peabody. I was smart enough to rent my own car 'cause, you know, for whatever reason they didn't really offer one. I wasn't there very long to be fair, but got my own car and in the in between times of of interviewing with some people, I drove myself around, took a look over everything 'cause, you know, at the time I had a partner too that I was responsible for and making sure we were gonna be in an okay spot. So yeah, just slinging around town trying to figure out w where things were in the in between interviews in my little rental car. And but yeah, worked out great. And I think What I knew about Memphis honestly was basketball, big time basketball. And I was so excited because, you know, my time at Kennesaw, the basketball was not very good transitioning. And then at OU, honestly, Jeff Capel was the coach when I got there. We had some McDonald's Americans. I'd missed the Blake Griffin days.
James Boone: Blake Griffin, baby.
Blake: Yeah. And then We kinda went on this little lull at the end of Capel's career and Lon Kruger had gotten the job who's a who's a legend. But I saw the Buddy Hield class was was freshman when I left. So I got to see them play a year. They weren't great yet. you know, Buddy Hield is is a monster and you know, his freshman to senior year growth is something I sort of kept up with. Just you hear the stories about his time in the gym and just like them literally having to kick him out of the gym at two AM or whatever, just putting up shop. So those are the stories you love no matter what what the logos are, right? So but yeah, big time basketball. I was so excited to get here and watch great basketball. And that's another that's another story about you know my first few years. The first couple years actually were okay. We had a little bit of a lull.
James Boone: It's been evo evol evolution. Yeah, yeah.
Blake: little bit of a lull. But yeah.
James Boone: Yeah, yeah.
Blake: so basketball sort of drove my narrative about Memphis. Derrick Rose was sort of the big thing that I knew the most about, quite frankly. And of course, I mean, Coach
James Boone: Right, right.
Blake: Hardaway, obviously, being my age and watching that monster play basketball. He was unreal.
James Boone: Was that I guess that was Josh Pastner Was he the coach here whenever you you came? Was Pastner still here?
Blake: Yeah, Coach Pastner was the head coach I got here, yeah.
James Boone: Okay. Okay, that sounds right. I remember growing up. Austin Nichols was a couple of years in front of me. This was like I guess it was like Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford, kinda that that era.
Blake: They were right before right before I got here.
James Boone: okay. Okay.
Blake: I I can't really name off. I mean, we were still pretty good. We had some some McDonald's Americans, all that good stuff, but we just we weren't quite dynamic for whatever reason when I got here.
James Boone: This is a golf podcast, ladies and gentlemen, but
Blake: No.
James Boone: you know, we could we can we can we can talk talk hoops hoops whenever we might have to open it up a little bit. so for the last twelve years you've been at Memphis. this past
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: season, guys have an incredible year. You know, I've talked to you kind of off air about you know expectations heading into the spring, some things clicked for you guys. what are some things that you've learned about yourself? And then this is a two part question. Second part what's something that you believed as a young coach that you completely disagree with today? So are there any kind of like misconceptions that you had about like leading a team that that is not true of you, you know, in twenty twenty six?
Blake: You know, I think when I when I was a young coach, like I said, I was I was pretty staunch in the way that I wanted to do things. I was also fresh out of out of grad school and so you know you've read a lot of books about how to build culture and how to do this and that in school and and some of it applied and some one of my favorite stories is at the end of my first semester of coaching, you know, fresh out of grad school, I had everyone complete a survey. And that was a terrible idea. I w I wanted to learn about what I'd not done well, what I had done well, where I could get better. And these boys just absolutely roasted me. I
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: mean, about everything. Whether it was in my control, not my and I got so mad. it was not productive and that it ultimately set us back. So yeah. I've learned that, you know, feedback is great. you probably need to have a good relationship if you're gonna, you know, ask for feedback. I hadn't earned it from them again, being the fourth coach in a year and sort of set myself up for for failure there. But I think one thing I've really learned is there's there's hard and fast rules, there's there's culture, there's standards, those don't change. How you get there can there can be some wiggle room and you you gotta meet each guy w where he's at. Obviously I've had a lot of international players, so I think that's helped me understand. people have different backgrounds, different cultures, you know. Do they understand the words that are coming out of my mouth from from the quote? So
James Boone: Sure.
Blake: it just yeah, just being a little more patient and you know, letting things evolve at at the rate that they need to and it's very rarely the rate that we want it to be. And so I think those are two things that are are very different from twenty five year old me to now forty five year old me.
James Boone: Yeah. Well it it it's a funny funny thing o opening yourself up to a survey. One, you're you're kind of running that, you know, like you said, reading the books, you're running it like a a corporate, you know, corporate company. You know. And then and then once you thanks a lot. Thanks
Blake: Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Harbor Business Review. Appreciate it. Yeah.
James Boone: a lot. which is it's just funny, man. Diego, whenever he opt on the show, he told a really cool story about him, his you know, spring of his sophomore year really kind of slumping, slumping through the spring. And he had been in the lineup and and prayed played pretty poorly in consecutive events. and he he told a story about how, you know, you guys sat down together and you essentially told him you can't, you know, leave the practice facility, you know, be here pretty much all day. get some sleep and then come back. Can you can you elaborate on on kind of what that was and had you seen that done before? And you and you can elaborate. Would love to hear that story.
Blake: yeah, I've certainly heard a lot of players get challenged. Coach Hybl wasn't afraid to challenge a guy, but the specific thing that I I did with him, I had done with other players, always with guys who say they wanted to play professionally. Okay, this was not some idea for somebody who wants to sell insurance when they're done. Like this is a a challenge, a coach to player challenge. with you saying you want to be a stud and you want to go do this for a living. And and so he wasn't the first player that I had laid this out for. But ultimately all I told him was like, look, I don't think you're working hard enough. You are frustrated, which is great, but I don't think your frustration is based I think you're getting what you earned at this point. And so I challenged him ten days, going as hard as he could go. And I left that somewhat up to his definition. I mean, I gave him some parameters, but I told him at at the end of the day if he's not going to bed physically exhausted, if not physically and mentally, then he left stuff in the in the tank. And that didn't mean you could shlep off on school. It didn't mean you you got to be a jerk, but it meant you were gonna go as hard as you could for ten days. And that that led up to right before our our home event, which he then which Illinois was playing in, which is the top ten team in the country at the time, and he wound up winning our home event after that ten day run. So You know, it was a coaching genius and that not even a little bit. Was it good on him for for taking that challenge? 'Cause he was the first person who he wasn't the first person who said yes. He was the first person to complete it. And for it to actually when you do things like that, it it's not about winning that next week, right? Like what are the odds? They're not good. But
James Boone: Mm-hmm. Right.
Blake: it was about seeing growth and knowing what it meant to be tired, knowing what it meant to really work hard. at a at a different level and and listen he hasn't always been able to keep up with that and and to be fair yeah ten days of working as hard as you can like can you do it for twenty at this age probably not should you do it for twenty days or thirty days probably not but there's different times for different different outputs and and and that's what I love about coaching now I think with where I am is Trying to unlock these little windows at the right time with the right player, with a thing that resonates, and you're just sort of hoping, man, that if they'll do it, that you get a good outcome. Because if he goes and plays terrible that next week, then I got myself in a pinch, right? Because he did the thing that I asked him to do. So it's it's always a little bit of a dice roll when you introduce anything of, hey, your stance is closed. That's a dice roll. Hey, you know, you're you're off in lala land. I need you to try to focus. Well, what does focus mean? I you're always going down these rabbit holes but one thing I've learned is everything that comes out of your mouth you you need to have thought about as a coach and you need to have thought about it in light of that person and then you need to deliver it in in the best way possible and listen that might not be a very comfortable way. It it might be a kid with where he's at, he needs the hand on the shoulder and, you know, let him vent and and make it about him. And then sometimes that kid, you know, he needs to be told that he's not living up to the goals that he has for himself and and just thought good whole cold hard look in the eyeballs. And I'm a big fan of telling them to look in the mirror 'cause the man staring back at you is who you are. And you get you get a chance to to change that every single day if if you want to and to make those decisions. And it's really freaking hard. Like I never pretend that what I'm asking them to do is easy.
James Boone: Yeah. There's a side of it where once they open themselves up to say, Hey, I want to play at the highest level possible, hey, I want to be a professional, well then it opens the window for you to be as honest and and hold them to that standard, which is is what as long as it's mutually agreed upon, it's kind of like,
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: you know, all bets are off for sure.
Blake: Well not that's first meeting in the year every single year. You know, do you wanna play on the PGA tour? But before you answer, as soon as your hand goes up, you are now determining our relationship in and to a large degree. So just please answer it thoughtfully and understand that, you know, if you say yes, that's that's a whole different book. And I'm not gonna judge you if you say no. there's still our standards, we're still gonna work hard, we're gonna do the things. But if you're like, hey, I just like I love golf, but I'm probably gonna have a life outside of it after this, I'm like, cool. I still need you to play great, but it's gonna look like if it's six o'clock on a Tuesday and the sun's out and you're not there and you say you wanna play on the PGA tour, well something's wrong. Like you should be there.
James Boone: Do you think at the level that you guys are at, and I would say even down maybe even to the mid major level, that that player exists anymore? Do you think with how deep, you know, how saturated the pool is of golfers and then how small the rosters are, do you think that player you know, I I was that type of player. I I came into the game a little bit later and I knew I knew what my ceiling was gonna be. But do you feel like that's do you feel like that player's kinda getting Kind of cut out of the game a little bit.
Blake: Yeah, I think well, I think it's the same amount of people on both sides. I don't think the amount of people have changed. I think people's perspective or perception has shifted. I mean, if you're playing at our level, any higher level, y your parents, you you've put in a lot of hours. You've put in a lot of resources, tens of thousands of
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, like you're all in, right? But does that mean you're gonna make it? Heck no.
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: But should you probably be saying you want to? Yes. so I think less kids are are probably aware of I don't know, it it's just not gonna happen. I think there's a little bit more follow your dreams and you can accomplish anything. And man, that is a great story and it can be true to to different degrees, but you know, I there's still gonna be a lot of insurance salesmen that play college golf that ain't running
James Boone: Mm-hmm.
Blake: out.
James Boone: Yeah, that's true. It's great fallback. Great plan B.
Blake: Yeah, and you should have one. Hundred percent.
James Boone: Or or or yeah. do you feel like your intuition, like you said, you may be early in your career knowing your players well enough to to know when to make a suggestion, when to make a a change, when to communicate, when to not communicate, do you feel like that muscle, if you want to call it a muscle, has improved for you?
Blake: Absolutely. Yeah, I mean I think it's I hope it's something that I've
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: gotten to be pretty good at. I think one thing is I never take it for granted that I'm doing a good job there. Like I I really I'm always kinda checking myself You know, why do I feel this way about this kid right now? Is it is it because, you know, I'm being selfish? Am I am I being reasonable? 'Cause sometimes I mean look, coaches are inherently unreasonable people. It's who would do this for twenty-two years if you knew what you were signing up for? Not that not that many people. So yeah, I just try to make sure I'm always kind of checking my ego because I'm dealing with, you know, if this kid really wants to play on the PJ tour and that is his dream and he's willing to sacrifice at that level, then man, I need to be all in for this kid. So I'm always trying to check am I doing this for me? Am I doing this for him? And again, is now the right time given where he's at, what he's got coming up, what are his experiences are. And so yeah, I think that's that's the part that's fun to me now. You know, I think the fun has evolved in a lot of ways. And I used to be a huge swing geek and do all, you know, golf machine and all that mess. And now I could honestly care less about that part. 'cause i I mean, everybody at our level can hit a seven iron at a pole on the driving range. Like it's not exciting. But trying to just man, if I can unlock a little window in their mind to then elicit a response and and have that happen in a way that I I I foresaw at some level, then that's that's awesome. Like that that still fires me up.
James Boone: Yeah, that's good. That's that that's you speaking to that evolution of you as a coach and things that get you fired up. That's really cool.
Blake: yeah, the caveat there is I always say w please listen, please try. You won't have to tell me if I'm wrong. Like I am I am in it, like I am paying if I tell you to do something, I am really locked in. And if it's
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: not right, I'm the one that needs to pull the ripcord and I will do it immediately and I will check myself because we're not gonna go down a rabbit hole And it'd be on me. Like I'm gonna I'm gonna say my bad. That was on me. I thought this was the right path. Eject, new game plan, and let's try to do this again.
James Boone: Elaborate why it's important to cut the cord on something like that with with any of your players specifically.
Blake: I I talk a lot about
James Boone: To admit to admit that you're wrong, you don't have to get specific, but yeah.
Blake: Yeah, I mean I talk a lot about self sabotage. I think college the best thing the most important job I have every day is to not let my guys self sabotage themselves. And so I certainly can't be the one to sabotage them, right? And so and I'm not talking about like we're gonna go to the drive range, I watch you hit three balls and I'm all of a sudden gonna change my mind about what I told you. I'm talking about
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: You did the thing I asked you to do, legitimately did it. We haven't seen any kind of trend. And trends are not straight lines, okay? econ major, so I I remember that part. there can be a little dip before yeah.
James Boone: Two degrees, everybody, two degrees.
Blake: There can be a dip before a plateau before a slight arch that can then do that, and again, we're just trying to go up over time. And so if we see either some kind of drastic dip or we spent enough time and I I believe that you worked on it and we did it the right way and it didn't work, then then cool, I can I can eat that, no problem.
James Boone: Yeah. Let's pivot to recruiting. y you and I both big fans of the city. You've been here for a while. we're b we're both transplants. We're we're homers on the city. We we appreciate the people, things to do. we're we're pretty big advocates of it just from conversations that I've had with you. you talk about what it is like recruiting the city of Memphis? Whether it's local guys to Tennessee or like you said, tapping into those international pockets.
Blake: Yeah, first thing I would say is it's it's been so much harder than I ever thought it would be and it frustrates me every single day. you know, I came again coming from Oklahoma with a big brand and everyone knew where you were and and kinda what was going on and if they flipped on something on Saturday they could probably see. And I feel like we actually I think part of that frustration is I feel like we have a lot of those things here. frustration,
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: you know, quite frankly, the the perception of the city has been hard to overcome. We we play a white-collar sport. A lot of people are very affluent, and their perception of the city of Memphis, particularly sometimes even if they live in the city of Memphis, can be can be tough to overcome from a recruiting standpoint. And so I always start local with every class that opens up every June fifteenth, I'm worried about the guy down the street first and foremost. And then we branch out. I I do kind of like this idea of of sort of a 250 mile circle around Memphis, which includes more or less a St. Louis, Nashville, Little Rock, down to Birmingham. I think that's a a great circle of talent. And for and those are people who are all aware of the city and it's sort of in their sphere of of thought. And so that's sort of my next wave of guys. And then if none of that works out, then obviously I'm very comfortable going internationally and and quite frankly international recruiting has been our our sweet spot. I probably beat my head against the wall too long when I first got here trying to do more local and and regional kids and I I got a few, some of them worked out, but at the end of the day I I probably I was a little too much in that sort of Oklahoma mindset of, you know, it'll it'll just happen. And you know, we've had some really good international the thing about internationals, you know, they don't have all the perceptions. They can still Google stuff. Like I mean, you're not hiding anything these these days, but we have an airport, you know, ten minutes from the practice facility. We have amazing facilities. Being in a city we have great golf courses. We have a variety of golf courses. And I think there's a culture in the city that sells really, really well. because we actually have a ton of culture in the city, and it is a very unique
James Boone: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Blake: city, and I love celebrating it. I love telling people when they ask certain questions, like, hey, I've I've lived downtown for half of my time. I've lived in Midtown. I have never lived in the suburbs because I want to live in the city of Memphis, and I am very happy about that. And I love the opportunities that that provides me as as a a person. I mean, I've learned so much. I I consider I I've been overseas. I'd seen some things. I have several degrees. I thought I knew a lot. And I have, I mean, it's laughable what I knew when I arrived here versus what I know now about the world and about some real life that that that people are living every day. And so I think it's a beautiful thing to celebrate on top of the music and the food and and all the fun things we all like to talk about. I tell a lot of recruits
James Boone: Sure, sure, sure.
Blake: that When you leave here, you will have the opportunity to understand some things about the world that you may or may not get if you're at your typical sort of land grant university, university of whatever. I think being in a city, whether it's, you know, going to Northwestern, you could have the same opportunity. Going to Georgia Tech, downtown Atlanta, you could learn those same things. I think you you can experience the real world. You're not so protected in some huge bubble here, and that's that's my sell. And it's it's certainly not gonna be for everybody and and if it scares you then I don't you know of course I don't want you here worried about X, Y, or Z. I want you here worried about, you know, why you're here and what we're trying to do and and growing as a as a young man who's ready at twenty-two, twenty-three, to go take care of themselves.
James Boone: My wife and I we were in Chattanooga, this was about six six months ago, maybe last October. And we were in a pretty posh, you know, pocket and Chattanooga's a really cool town, lots of cool places that to visit.
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: we we were in line for brunch and there were yeah, I don't wanna typecast a bunch of people, but just a bunch of people in there complaining about how long the line was and how long the wait was and being very disrespectful. to the people people waiting on them. And I think one thing I always I I've just noticed from being here over the last two years is like you just don't see as much of that. And you you could get into the reasons why of hey you know, maybe like some you know some some people have lived some very difficult stories. But I do think for the most part the people here are a little bit more grateful, more authentic
Blake: Mm.
James Boone: for sure, and then a lot less pretentious. And that goes for all socioeconomic backgrounds. You know, w whether you know, if you're affluent or or less affluent, I think it's it's pretty true across the board. So it's been it's been refreshing for me to be in the city. And it's I agree with you, coach, for sure.
Blake: Yeah, it's it's fun when you travel, I think too. like I was just in New Orleans for the weekend. another city where people are, you know, they have a great time. It has its own culture, its own vibe. and and I love I love going down there. You know, there's there's yeah, there's parts in Nashville that I you know are okay for for a minute. You know, Chattanooga's is a really nice town. but there is something even even when I go back home or, you know, I I'm fortunate enough to have a a little cabin in North Carolina that I love to escape to. But man, when it's time to come back home to to Memphis and and to this place I've lived for more than a decade now. You know, there is that there's that little bit of excitement still about getting back to the city and and but it's because it's ultimately because of what you're talking about. It's the people. And I think there's a genuineness that's it's real and there's not a lot of fake stuff going on here. You d you don't last very long in these circles if you're fake, whether it's at a dinner
James Boone: That's right. That's right.
Blake: party, at a beautiful home, or you know, you're kinda on the fringe of of the rough part of town trying to grab a a great sandwich from this little food truck. All of it you you need to be authentic and real and treat people with respect. That goes a long way in in all of these communities. And at the end of the day we're all just trying to to wake up and and have the best day we can and and go to bed,
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: you know, hopefully worst case in the same spot as when you woke up or maybe just a little bit better. And hey, if you can drag someone along with you and help them have a great day or improve their experience, I think those things happen here. We're an incredibly philanthropic city with St. Jude, LeBonner, I mean, from a medical standpoint, the stories that come out of here, come on. It's crazy. And so yeah, lucky to be here. Okay.
James Boone: Come on, man. That was sales pitch. You were you were in salesman mode. I'm I'm ready to commit.
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: I'll commit on the spot. Coming.
Blake: Come on, I'll get you I'll get you a house next door. Let's get you closer to downtown.
James Boone: Yeah, we need that. Need that. Give me get me on Getwell man. know, speaking of recruiting locally, you had a guy that played for you, by the name of Isaiah Jackson, not too long ago. He's now now a member of your staff. Another guy who's, you know, just down the road from Mississippi. another guy who who really loves the city. can you hype him up a little bit? you know, your guys' relationship and partnership going from player coach relationship to now hey coach coach relationship where you guys are trying to make game plans and sh strategize.
Blake: Yeah, I mean, Coach Jackson is is a beautiful human being. He's one of the nicest guys that that I've ever met. I tell people I've been trying to make him mean for getting close to a decade
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: now and I've I've failed miserably, to his credit. I'm I'm very fortunate to have him on staff. I h him being a former player is great because he's been yelled at by me and fussed at by me and Occasionally if I don't like what's happened at the office or or a call he made on the golf course, he still sees that side of me and he handles it really, really well. which frees me up to kinda get it out of my system too, let's face it. Like I'm I'm selfish about the w why I'm doing it sometimes, but He's learning a lot. He's growing a lot. He he wants to be better at his job every day. And I certainly am am okay pushing on him pretty hard because of our our past and our relationship and I can trust him to to take the criticism and and try to do something with it. And he's getting really a lot better about, you know, when he doesn't understand something or or maybe maybe really thinks that my standard or what I'm looking for is something different, he'll come ask and instead of taking a straight bullet, he'll just step in front and and ask for more information and more clarity. But he does a great job with guys. Again, his personality versus mine, they're certainly gonna go to him. Some things that they're not going to come to me about. And I think that's that's what you're looking for with an assistant. I do think he's getting better at telling them no. which you know, for his maturation and and if he wants to progress in this profession, you gotta know when to to put your foot down and when to give a hug and do all those things. So he's certainly good at the give and hug part. We're we're working on the the He's he's done a great job. He was an awesome player. I mean he was an All American for us which is is pretty rarefied air and at the end of the day he can still go out and and take care of them and hold his own when he needs to. So his street cred's pretty high on the golf course. Daily for sure. You you've been pegging it, brother. You've been getting after it.
James Boone: That was very nice. That th that was probably the nicest comment you could have said. I appreciate that.
Blake: There you go. You're welcome. See? I'm not so bad.
James Boone: Could case in point. Every to everybody listening, Blake Smart Diego, Xian Christian, Toby, you got a lot of returners coming back from a national championship run this past year. You guys got a f a few transfers coming in, a couple freshmen. what are some things that you're excited about heading into twenty six and twenty seven?
Blake: Yeah, I mean, you know, last year we were a bubble team last year. It was a lot more stressful than I I thought it should have been given our talent level. We wound up squeezing through as as an at large. We we had a nice conference championship. Diego was freaking awesome and and got the individual in and really towed it pretty good and You know, I I've always preached once you get to the regionals, who who cares? Like you're there. Go go raise some hell and let's see what happens. And we did a phenomenal job as a team. with with Christian leading the way, finishing second. You know, if you'd have told me we were gonna advance to a national championship without Diego and Yixian being our one two in some format, you know, the odds were were not stacked in our favor. And that really showed the team that we should have been could have been more of the year. and so getting to go to a national championship when maybe I I really thought we were a regional team. But again, once you're on the first tee at regionals, I mean, why not? And we we did that. And we really sucked it up. We it got a little precarious on the back nine of of the regional. And I you know, I was afraid we were gonna let it slip a little bit, but we hung and you know, got it got to go to Carlsbad. And and what that's really done for us is it changes the mindset, right? Like that feeling, I know we belong, I know I belong. I love being around those coaches, I love being in that atmosphere. You know, regionals is freaking chaos, I'm nervous. I'm like, I'm amped. I'm getting after it. I'm having to check myself constantly. I love it. I know I belong. Now those boys get to know that they belong because they earned it, right? I didn't hit a golf shot. They earned it. And so we, I don't know what
James Boone: Yeah, that's right.
Blake: to say, we skipped a step. I've kind of used that term, but I think some things just came together at a really good time. And and again, nationals wasn't necessarily what we wanted. That being said, we beat two top 30 teams. We finished 28th in the country. you know, in my head, I know what. But when I met with my boss, Dr. Scott, he said, You're the 28th best team in the country, and you need to realize that. And I struggle with that because that's you know, I'm all I like beat myself up, and you know, it could be better, blah blah blah. But he was right, quite frankly, he was right. So I've tried to get that my big thick skull and and get ready for this year. You know, the best thing we did as a program is we retained those four who and we graduated Cian O'Connor,
James Boone: Good point.
Blake: he was a freaking legend for us four years. but yeah, we didn't lose any of that core group that got us there. And in today's age, you know, that's the compliment. Like when I'm recruiting for the city, that's my best compliment, is we kept those boys. and so yeah, very pleased that they're back. pleased that they believe in us and believe that we can go do something you know bigger, better. and that they also believe that. They're putting their games and their not their future really 'cause Pro Golf's a whole different deal, but we're trying to get ready and and they're trusting us with that. And so a huge compliment. That's probably the best part of the year, which I hadn't really thought about till now. So and then the new guys, yeah, you you get me there. The new guys really fired up about Luke Stennett coming from Rhode Island. He's got three wins in college at the division one level. He's got firepower. his good is really, really good. His bad has I guess been a little bit rough. And so we'll try to find that right niche to really help him be a a week to week guy and ready to go. And we got a D3 transfer, Alvin Su who also has three wins at at the division three level, you know, a sub seventy two stroke average, which are there different golf courses, yeah, but to average under seventy two means you can you know, get your golf ball in the hole. and he's won three times and I you you've we've all experienced it, right? You're coming up eighteen, if it's the win, I don't care if you're Division One, JUCO, those feelings are those feelings. And he's found a way to to quell those and get it done. And then, you know, we got three freshmen coming in. It's and freshmen are freshmen. Come talk to me a month into the season and and we'll see where those guys sit. And they're they're super talented. Also, this year, between the guys we're bringing in and and the guys that we've retained, like club head speeds and stuff, like we're actually gonna be a sneaky a team that can hit it, and we haven't always been that team. So I'm I'm excited to see short par fours get shorter and and par fives get shorter, and hopefully wedge games and and putting match up with that. But yeah, I think we're gonna be a dynamic team. I think we're you know top I'd love to see us just have a really nice solid year where we're not really worried about at bids and being on the bubble and and we're going out. Our schedule's really good this year. we've ramped that up. Some of the tournaments we've gone to a a bunch of years have just gotten better fields randomly, or picked up a team or two here
James Boone: Mm-hmm.
Blake: or there. So that's always nice. And then we're going to Tennessee right out of the gate, which is a really strong field. And then we added Arizona early in the spring and and I think what Tennessee finished T eight or nine, something like that, national championship in Arizona made it into match plays. So again, I th I love our logo. I think our logo carries. I think I'm in a really sweet spot in my career, just you know, twenty plus years in. The guys that I've walked fairways with and recruited with and grinded with. are head coaches at some really awesome places and they still
James Boone: Yeah.
Blake: take my phone calls which I like to think was earned a long time ago, maybe on some cart path somewhere, sweating and then maybe having a beer after and and developing relationships with people. So I think we're in a we're in a great spot as a as a program, as a city. and I think, you know, just personally I'm I'm at that experience level. I'm still young enough that I I've got some giddy up, but I'm old enough that I've you know, I've at least figured out a lot of things that aren't gonna work and I'm still trying to figure out all the things that can work or how to make them work.
James Boone: Blake Smart, ladies and gentlemen, head coach of the Memphis Tigers getting going. If you're listening to this, it's probably end of August and the Tigers are about to head to head head to Knoxville. What what week in September or is that late August that you guys are heading to U T?
Blake: Yeah, well the I think the tournament the tournament dates are like the first and second of September. So I think we're leaving around the twenty ninth or so. Heading that way.
James Boone: we're gonna finish up with a game we've been doing in season two, we've been finishing up our episodes with some different different games, some some some gimmicks if you want to call it. a major player, like I mentioned this at the top of the show. University Memphis alum. If you're thinking about famous alums, you know, you can't include Derrick Rose, like he, you know, was just here for his freshman year. I'm trying to think of some others. Isaiah Jackson, very, you know, very famous University of Memphis alum. one of the most famous Memphis
Blake: Famous for something.
James Boone: fame famous for something, all American golfer to his credit. one of the most famous alums, Anfernee Penny Hardaway, who's also you know avid golfer, is just a stone's throw away. from UofM's golf facility. I've heard I've obviously not witnessed, but I've heard he's made some trips down there and and hit on Blake and Isaiah's range from time to time. loves the game, which which struck me a couple days ago. I was asking myself the question, you know, he has a great golf swing, loves the game, plays and competes in tournaments and things like that. Plays out at Southwind and all the nice courses in Memphis. It raised the question in me, A ton of NBA guys are getting into the game. Obviously, like you know, LeBron is literally on my feed all the time of his, you know, golf swing, his improvement, all this stuff. But literally people people, I say MJ started the trend, you know, Penny could have started the trend, you know, back in the nineties of of NBA guys playing golf at a at a relatively high level. So what we're gonna do to close out the show, Blake and I are gonna go through NBA players golf swings, and Blake is gonna rate them one to ten. And we're gonna see who has the best swing. I'm gonna share my screen. Blake, are you ready to get this going?
Blake: Let's let's do it.
James Boone: Do you have any have any assumptions on on who'll make the cut?
Blake: I mean I I just assume there's gonna be some athleticism, and depending on their age that could factor in. If they're young then probably not very good, but as they get older, maybe some extra time.
James Boone: Yeah, yeah. And I and just to preface, I did leave out LeBron and Steph. I feel like those are kind like, you know, low hanging fruit. I feel like those pull up on everybody's feeds a ton. We're gonna get things started with Ray Allen, two time NBA champion. Coach, what do you think of his swing out of ten?
Blake: that's I mean that's a solid seven right there. Like great setup, really good rhythm. He looks like he's he's spent some time on the golf course. yeah, I'd take that's
James Boone: Little
Blake: a seven right there, solid.
James Boone: Solid seven to get things started with Ray Allen. We'll head over to you know NBA Champ 2026 point guard. Incredible run. Jalen Brunson. We got him on the links right here. Shorts are very short. We'll go out of 10. What do we think, Coach?
Blake: Okay. It was better than I expected. I'll go with a five, you know, the outfit, not so much, but I'll give them I'll give a five. There's some athleticism. It's short, it's compact. not a lot of waste in motion. Yeah, not bad.
James Boone: Yeah, not bad at all. Not bad at all. We'll go five out of ten. That's like a great barometer to compare to. let's see.
Blake: Yeah, I'm trying to, you know, make some room for for something really good.
James Boone: Let's go, Andre Iguadala NBA champ, played with stuff. Out of ten.
Blake: Hmm. I'm gonna go with a six there. I mean, you know, the shape of it's pretty good. balance looks like there's some rhythm, even though it's in slow mo, but a little little flippy dippy there, which is not not my favorite move. But yeah, he's he's posing on the outfit's solid, he's got the big swoosh going. So yeah, we'll we'll go right in in between those other two with a six there.
James Boone: I do like that outfit. By the way, University of Memphis, very solid. Obviously big Nike school. I think one thing that stands out to me though with your guys' logos, hey, even with golf polos, you got you guys are rocking the penny one cent on the sleeves. That is a really nice touch.
Blake: Got it. Yeah, right here. There it is.
James Boone: Repping it. Coach has got it. All right, we're gonna go Austin Reeves.
Blake: Nice nice golf
James Boone: Steve can play.
Blake: course. Been there, done that. Beautiful. Mm. I'm gonna say he's right there with Ray Allen. I might have to go a little seven point five. Just a little bit better than Ray Allen. Pretty good.
James Boone: I like that. Austin Reeves. Austin Reeves leader in the clubhouse. Let's go down to Deron Williams, former Utah Jazz lead guard. Let's see what he's got.
Blake: See also Reeves shot tracer kind of okey doked there because that it was a tight draw on the shot tracer. I'd like to see that one as a shot tracer, but I'm gonna I'm maybe gonna have to go.
James Boone: That's a lo that's a large body of water to carry.
Blake: he wouldn't worry about that water. That's
James Boone: But that's a good action.
Blake: that's what I like. Actually a little club twirl. Just because of the club twirl, we're going with a eight.
James Boone: I like that. That's a great action. Deron Williams, man. Alright, let's go to the big diesel. Shequel O'Neal.
Blake: Mm. You know, there's a lot of handicap there. You're what's seven two, probably probably clocking in to three fifty right here.
James Boone: Just tough.
Blake: my. that one hurts my feelings. That hurts my body, actually. I can feel that
James Boone: Ha ha ha.
Blake: in my T spine. we're gonna have to go down to about a a two on that one.
James Boone: Shaquille Nate with two That's generous. we'll go a couple more here.
Blake: Yeah, I mean
James Boone: JR Smith, he obviously had a run. Played it played a couple years at NC A&T Obviously pretty well known for being a good golfer.
Blake: Yeah, I mean just getting in a little a little putting
James Boone: Not a bad action there. I think that's all we got.
Blake: action right there. Really nice speed, great outfit with the with the hoodie on. I I mean, I know he can play. We're we're gonna go eight point five there, pretty solid. time though. He's he's putting the hours.
James Boone: 8-5, J.R. Smith, leader in the clubhouse. we'll go let's go one more here. Have we done D-Wade yet? I can't remember. Let's
Blake: No.
James Boone: do D-Wade.
Blake: Yeah.
James Boone: It's not bad on the way down.
Blake: I mean I don't I know I mean his his fashion sense far exceeds mine, but man, I don't know what's happening there with with the pants
James Boone: Hehehe.
Blake: sock combo and there's a lot of it's if he was the size of Shaquille O'Neal, they would be on lockstep for pretty poor motion. It looks like he actually hit that decently solid though. So I'll give him a I'll give him a three point five. White pants is is tough.
James Boone: Yeah the Yeah, weight down didn't look too bad, but you're you're right. The baseball pants, the baseball joggers, those are those are crazy. That's crazy work. Alright, we'll go last one
Blake: Especially that time.
James Boone: here. We we we could keep going all day on this. We'll go last one. So pretty iconic human being, pretty iconic golf swing here. curious to hear your thoughts. I know he's been working on his game a decent bit. Charles Barkley.
Blake: Yeah, I gotta see what version of getting here. yeah. Okay. Again, factoring in sort of size and age right there. Man, I'm gonna go with a little six and a half. That's some big work he's done.
James Boone: I mean that's really solid, no doubt. For those I mean
Blake: And you know, the shot tracer does it helps.
James Boone: Yeah, Shot Tracer is very generous. I feel like for those who were not around for the the Hank Haney golf golf fix era, those were some rough days for Sir Charles.
Blake: Tough. Tough to watch.
James Boone: Very tough. Ladies ladies and gentlemen, Blake Smart, University of Memphis head coach. Blake, thank you so much for hopping on. Thanks for your time.
Blake: Yeah, it a lot of fun, James. Appreciate you.