Former Tennessee basketball standout JaJuan Smith is joining the Knoxville Catholic men’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant, the school announced Wednesday.
☘️🏀Exciting News! 📣 Join us in welcoming Jajuan Smith, former Tennessee basketball player, as the new Assistant Coach for Knoxville Catholic’s Men’s Varsity Basketball! pic.twitter.com/MaiEtwY0tc
— Knoxville Catholic Men’s Basketball (@catholic_hoops) July 26, 2023
Gabrial Blair is entering his first season as the Knoxville Catholic head coach after leaving his perch atop Gaston Christian School in North Carolina. Former Catholic standout and Belmont basketball player Luke Smith spent one year as the Fighting Irish head coach before resigning to take an assistant job at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville.
Luke Smith replaced longtime Knoxville Catholic coach Mike Hutchens who retired following the 2021-22 season.
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JaJuan Smith, a Cleveland, Tennessee native, spent his last three years as the associate head coach at Speights Academy in Florida. Prior to that, Smith played a decade-plus overseas after a short stint with the Dallas Mavericks.
Smith was one of the best Tennessee basketball players of the Bruce Pearl era, turning in a storied four-year career in Knoxville that saw the Vols twice make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and reach No. 1 in the AP Poll during his senior season.
The shooting guard was an offensive weapon, especially in his final two seasons at Tennessee where he averaged 15.2 and 14.4 points per game respectively. Smith was a marksman from deep, making over 200 three-pointers in his career, shooting at a 37% rate as a junior and a 38% rate as a senior.
Smith was a true two-way guard, earning SEC All-Defensive honors during his senior season where he averaged 2.5 steals per game.
The former Tennessee star now looks to help guide the Knoxville Catholic basketball program. The Fighting Irish went 20-8 a season ago, falling in to Nashville’s Lipscomb Academy in the opening round of the Division II-AA state tournament.
