Temple University Athletics
Staff Directory
Smith, Wanisha
Wanisha Smith
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
- Email:
Wanesha Smith came to Temple in 2022 after a brief hiatus from coaching while pursuing opportunities outside of sports. In the basketball world, she most recently served as an assistant coach at Duke during the 2019-2020 season.
During Coach Smith’s second year at Temple, she helped lead the team to the 2023-24 American Athletic Championship, as the Owls finished the season with a conference record of 13-5. In addition, she was named to the ABIS Black Coaches Watchlist.
Smith spent time on Coach Richardson’s coaching staff at Towson from 2017-19. During her time with the program, she helped Coach Richardson lead the Tigers to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Before Towson, Smith was an assistant with the Longwood University women’s basketball program for seven years. While at Longwood, Smith held a wide range of duties, including guard coach, recruiting, community service coordinator, and travel/facility liaison.
Before entering coaching, Smith was a highly successful player. The former point guard was drafted 27th overall in the 2008 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty before being traded to the Detroit Shock. Smith played her college ball at Duke, where she set the program record for assists by a first-year student (154) and was a four-time ACC Rookie of the Week. Over her four years in Durham, the Blue Devils tallied a 119-15 record while Smith scored 1,256 career points and passed for 496 career assists. Her assists placed her 5th record in Duke women’s basketball history. Smith was named a team captain and started for Duke in the 2006 National Title game.
Smith attended high school at Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland where she played for Coach Richardson. She won a host of accolades while at Riverdale Baptist, including McDonald’s All-American, WBCA All-American, Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, Parade All-American, USA Basketball Gold Medalist (USA Basketball Youth Developmental Festival), 2004 Washington Post Player of the Year, and 2003 and 2004 National Christian League Player of the Year.
During Coach Smith’s second year at Temple, she helped lead the team to the 2023-24 American Athletic Championship, as the Owls finished the season with a conference record of 13-5. In addition, she was named to the ABIS Black Coaches Watchlist.
Smith spent time on Coach Richardson’s coaching staff at Towson from 2017-19. During her time with the program, she helped Coach Richardson lead the Tigers to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in program history. Before Towson, Smith was an assistant with the Longwood University women’s basketball program for seven years. While at Longwood, Smith held a wide range of duties, including guard coach, recruiting, community service coordinator, and travel/facility liaison.
Before entering coaching, Smith was a highly successful player. The former point guard was drafted 27th overall in the 2008 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty before being traded to the Detroit Shock. Smith played her college ball at Duke, where she set the program record for assists by a first-year student (154) and was a four-time ACC Rookie of the Week. Over her four years in Durham, the Blue Devils tallied a 119-15 record while Smith scored 1,256 career points and passed for 496 career assists. Her assists placed her 5th record in Duke women’s basketball history. Smith was named a team captain and started for Duke in the 2006 National Title game.
Smith attended high school at Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro, Maryland where she played for Coach Richardson. She won a host of accolades while at Riverdale Baptist, including McDonald’s All-American, WBCA All-American, Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, Parade All-American, USA Basketball Gold Medalist (USA Basketball Youth Developmental Festival), 2004 Washington Post Player of the Year, and 2003 and 2004 National Christian League Player of the Year.
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