Coach Craig Smith Sticks to His Guns by Hiring Old Assistant Coaches
USU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Craig Smith introduced two new faces to the USU program earlier today, but they weren’t new to him at all.
Utah State Athletics announced this afternoon that Eric Peterson and Austin Hansen will join the men’s basketball team as assistant coaches to Smith after both of them previously coached with him at South Dakota prior to his hiring by the Aggies at the end of last season. Peterson and Hansen coached with Smith throughout his four-year tenure at USD.
At South Dakota, Hansen worked with the guard position while Peterson worked with the frontcourt, Smith said, and are cited by Smith as “a major reason” for the Coyotes’ unprecedented level of success in those four years. “Austin and Eric are the total package,” Smith said. “They are great coaches, recruiters, and mentors for the men in our program.”
Hansen coached the guards at USD to rank second for two consecutive years in turnovers per game while being one of the top teams in the Summit League in creating turnovers. In addition, South Dakota led the Summit League in field goal percentage last season, shooting over 47 percent from the field.
Prior to coaching at USD, Hansen coached at South Dakota State, mentoring SDSU’s all-time leading scorer and 2013 NBA draft pick, Nate Wolters.
Peterson coached the bigs at South Dakota, mentoring a first-team All-Summit League forward in Tyler Flack, who averaged over 15 points per game last year. Peterson also took the charge of scheduling for the Coyotes, and last year alone, South Dakota played contests against UCLA, TCU, and even Duke.
Together with Smith, the coaching trio revamped the South Dakota program into a contender in the Summit League, achieving a 48-21 record in the last two years, and took the team to the National Invitational Tournament.
“My family and I could not be more excited to be at Utah State. The tradition and fan support that has been associated with the men’s basketball program is second to none,” Peterson said. “The opportunity to continue to work for coach Smith and be part of the Aggie community is a privilege. I look forward to helping build this program into a contender in the Mountain West.”
“I’m excited and extremely grateful to be joining coach Smith and his staff at Utah State,” Hansen said. “He’s a proven winner at every level and always does it the right way. The history, tradition and support of USU basketball makes this a great opportunity for me. Our family is really looking forward to being a part of the Aggie family.”