University of North Alabama men’s head basketball coach Tony Pujol has completed his coaching staff for 2018-19 with the addition of former Charleston Southern Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Ahmad Smith.
Smith joins Willie Watson and Tom Berryman as assistant coaches with the Lions, along with graduate assistant coach Daniel Williams.
Pujol has previously worked with all four members of his UNA staff. He worked with Watson, Berryman and Williams at the University of Alabama and Smith during his time at Appalachian State.
“The great thing about this staff is that each coach brings his own dynamic or individual piece to the table and it blends really well,” Pujol said. “From recruiting to coaching to mentoring, it all balances out really well.”
Smith, a 2004 Appalachian State graduate, was also an integral part of one of the best stretches in Charleston Southern history as an assistant coach during his seven years on staff.
A former player and coach at Appalchian State, Smith helped CSU go 19-12 in 2011-12 and the Buccaneers won their first Big South Tournament game since 2006. CSU again ranked among the Big South’s best rebounding teams in 2013-14, tallying a nearly +3.0 margin on the glass.
CSU won its second Big South regular season title in three years in 2014-15, and advanced to the NIT. The Bucs put together the winningest regular season in the program’s 50-year history thanks in part to its ability to rebound the basketball. CSU ranked 2nd in the Big South in both rebounding margin and offensive rebounds, and was 20th nationally in the latter category with Smith as posts coach.
Smith was promoted to the role of Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at Charleston Southern in August of 2015.
Smith returned to college coaching after spending three years in several capacities, including that of head coach, in Ireland.
Smith went to CSU from Dublin, Ireland, where he honed his coaching skills from 2008 on. Most recently, Smith served as the technical director for the Templeogue Basketball Club. He was also the head basketball coach for the Men’s Division I, U17 and U18 teams. In 2011, the Division I men’s team finished fifth, improving five spots from the year before Smith’s arrival.
Prior to that, Smith was the head men’s and women’s basketball coach at Institute of Technology Tallaght College in Dublin, finished as the 2011 women’s team champions and the 2011 men’s team runners-up. He holds a career 74-45 record as a head coach, including time with the Colaiste Eanna High School U19 Boys (2009-2011), and the Shamrock Rovers Hoops Professional Superleague, where he coached from August 2008 to March 2010.
Before leaving for Ireland, Smith was an assistant coach at Appalachian State University from 2004-08, helping lead the Mountaineers to a school-record 25 wins in 2006-07, a North Division regular season SoCon Championship in 2008 and a San Juan Shootout Tournament championship in 2007.
As a player, Smith spent two years at Cedar Valley Junior College, earning NJCAA All-American honors while leading his team to an NJCAA National Championship in 2001. He earned the school’s student-athlete award and earned multiple conference honors, including all-conference and freshman of the year honors, before moving on to play two years for the Mountaineers in the Southern Conference.
He and his wife, Teresa, have a son, Tristan (6 years old).
http://www.roarlions.com/news/2018/6/1/pujol-completes-una-mens-basketball-staff.aspx
