One of the things that might have gotten lost in the University of Utah firing men’s basketball head coach Craig Smith on Monday was that two of his sons are still associated with the program.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, though, made sure that didn’t happen, and praised the pair for sticking with the team even with the difficult situation involving their father’s absence.
Following the No. 22 Wildcats’ 83-66 win over the Runnin’ Utes in their first game since Smith’s dismissal, Lloyd began his press conference by praising Landon Smith and Brady Smith for staying with the Utes.
Landon Smith, the eldest son of Craig Smith, is in his first year as the Utah men’s basketball director of administration and operations. He had experience working with Utah basketball camps the previous two summers before joining the Utes’ staff.
Brady Smith is a sophomore walk-on with the Utes who previously played at Salt Lake Community College and has played in eight games this season.
“Both those kids showed up today, which is pretty amazing. I mean, I know you guys, this is a business, and it’s a hard business, and I get all those things, but we all have families, we all have kids,” Lloyd said. “And for his kids to show up today, and Craig, I talked to him today and (he) didn’t have one bad word to say, straight class for his boys to show up today with their teammates, (it) says something.”
Lloyd went on, adding, “This stuff’s hard. What we go through, even when it’s going good, it’s hard. And I know you guys have opinions — this isn’t against the media, this is just society in general — and as guys that decided to coach, there’s a lot of really cool things that come with it, but there’s a lot of tough stuff. There’s a lot of tough days, and you know what? There’s a lot of times your family gets neglected. Because what we’re doing to try to prove our worth as a coach, to prove our value, to prove that that we belong at this level and, and so I’ve got a lot of respect for those two young men.”
Craig Smith is the father of four children, including sons Landon, Brady and Carson, as well as daughter Lauren.
Last March when Utah was competing in the NIT, Carson Smith committed to North Dakota State. He’s a true freshman for the Bison this year.
At the time, Craig Smith reflected on his role as a father.
“You know, as the father of four, really proud of all of our kids and who they are and what they stand for and I’m not the son of a coach, so I don’t know what they go through with everything. Only they know that,” he told the Deseret News.
Lloyd and Smith became head coaches at Arizona and Utah, respectively, ahead of the 2021-22 season, and both joined the Big 12 together this year.
Lloyd said that he called Smith Wednesday after Smith was fired near the end of his fourth season as Utah’s coach. He had a 65-62 record while leading the Utes program.
“He and I are colleagues and, you know, we got to know each other coaching in the Pac-12, and we kind of came into the league together. You know, do Craig and I talk on the phone a lot? No. Do we completely understand what everybody goes through all the time? Yes,” Lloyd said.
“So you develop a brotherhood, because there’s not too many people that know what your life’s really like and the stress you feel and the pressure that’s on you and trying to figure out your team and everything that comes with it. It was just one guy calling another guy, because I respect him, and I just wanted him to know that, hey, he’s a great dude, and sorry that that happened and then I hope he and his family are okay.”
