By Joseph Staszewski
Experiencing basketball from a different perspective has revived Shenneika Smith’s passion for the game and possibly given her a different future in it.
The former St. John’s University women’s basketball standout and Canarsie native saw her professional playing career take her from being drafted by the New York Liberty, to stints playing overseas in Spain and Portugal. She returned home for a tryout with the Connecticut Sun before deciding to give playing a rest outside of competing with the Jamaican national team. Smith was also a bit homesick after leaving the New York area for the first time.
“At first it was rough, but I adjusted,” Smith said. “Basketball just wasn’t the same for me. I lost a little bit of my love for it. It wasn’t my joy anymore.”
She had wanted to try coaching at some point and was offered the chance when she ran into South Shore head coach Anwar Gladden at the St. John’s tip-off event in October. He jokingly told her to come down and help. Once she did, it quickly became serious.
“When I got here and it worked out, I was like this is something I can do,” Smith said,
The job of assistant coach has fit her well and she has meshed well with the team. Smith has known Gladden since her high school days at the now closed St. Michael Academy and the Exodus travel program. Smith’s time on the bench has made her think of the lessons she learned from coaches Apache Paschall to Kim Barnes Arico and Joe Tartamella.
“I now understand why Apache use to yell at me in high school.” she said “You see things differently.”
Smith is just the second female coach Gladden has had in his 13th season at the helm. She made just too much sense.
Smith was one of the best players ever at St. John’s. She averaged 13.5 points per game in her career. She helped lead St. John’s to four straight NCAA tournaments and its first ever Sweet Sixteen. Smith hit the most memorable shot in program history as a junior, a 3-pointer to end the University of Connecticut’s 99-game home winning streak.
“There is not a young lady on the team that can’t say they don’t want to do what she has accomplished with her career,” Gladden said. “The young ladies are getting advice from someone who has been where they want to be.”
Smith has brought plenty to the table. She has rolled out some plays and drills from her St. John’s day and provided Gladden with a better perspective of what it’s like to be a female basketball player.
“She’s brought this team together more,” McDonald’s All-American forward Brianna Fraser said. “She’s taught us how to communicate with one another, how to trust one another.”
Her affable and confident personality has brought a new calm to the usually flamboyant Gladden. It has translated to the players as well. The Vikings are 16-4 and in the running for the top seed in the upcoming Public School Athletic League playoffs.
“She’s calmed Anwar down a lot,” senior guard Amanda Cruz said. “If we make a mistake, we are not nervous anymore. We have it under control now.”
Smith hasn’t completely given up on her professional playing career, saying she is open to giving going oversea another try after a year off. For now she is enjoying being coach Smith and doing clinics and other hoops jobs. The experience itself has been rewarding enough so far. Bringing home a city title in the process would make it that much sweeter.
“That’s the icing on the cake being able to be with a team that can win a city title,” Smith said. “I never won a city title. It could be kind of be cool to become a coach and win a title.”
