In the rare moments of free time afforded to a college basketball coach, Point Loma Nazarene men\u2019s assistant coach Julius Smith likes to unwind with words, as a reader, writer, and linguist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like to be singular in my mindset,\u201d Smith said. \u201cA lot of different things fill my cup: creative writing; reading a great book; learning a new language. I like to be multifaceted \u2013 yes, I love coaching basketball, but I like to do a lot of things, and I am okay with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Affectionately called \u2018Juice\u2019 by those in the PLNU basketball program \u2013 as in being in his presence gives those around him juice or energy \u2013 Smith, 31, in his fourth season on the Sea Lion bench, depends on the quiet moments away from the game, book in hand, to recharge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI place an emphasis on turning it off when I can,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe days off that I have, I read. I shut my mind off from thinking about basketball and let myself take a literary journey. That fuels me to be better when we come back to practice. I can\u2019t do it seven days a week because I don\u2019t think that\u2019s healthy. I know that is hard to comprehend because we are in a profession that requires you to work 60-hour weeks, but that time I can step away from coaching is restorative.\u201d<\/p>\n
From Shel Silverstein to Octavia Butler, Smith\u2019s lifelong love of books started with a collection of poetry gifted to him as a kid by his mom. On the inside cover, an inscription is memorized to this day: \u201cnever let anyone take your knowledge away because it is the one thing everlasting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt fueled my want and desire for a more intense base of knowledge,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI think I realized \u2018hey there is a story inside of these books that can help me be a better human being and in turn, I can help others do better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith majored in English with an emphasis on creative writing at William Jessup College and then earned a master\u2019s degree in English literature from California Baptist University. His thesis, which topped out at 125 pages, was titled \u201cGermane Signification: Language and Prose Used in African American Literature pre-1900.\u201d<\/p>\n
The literary and the hardwood are perhaps an unusual pairing, but in Smith\u2019s mind, his background in language and creativity is why he is an effective coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing the guys understand is that my communication is going to be thorough; detailed; intentional; clear,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI am not able to express my thoughts in the way I am able to now unless I understand syntax and diction and the proper punctuation and how grammar connects everything we do. I bring it back to my master\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have a dude as talented as him with people \u2013 he\u2019s a guy everyone wants to be around; he\u2019s a magnet to other people \u2013 he can do so many things,\u201d added fellow PLNU assistant coach Justin Downer. \u201cAlong the way he is going to run into a lot of people that want to use his skills for different things. Our guys and staff love him.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the nationally ranked Division II, PLNU program, Smith wears many hats. He works in player development; recruits; scouts; schedules; and helps make travel arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has lapped people [who started coaching at the same time] in terms of his talent,\u201d Downer said. His rise is as unique and fast as most people you can find.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downer, who was a teammate of Smith\u2019s at William Jessup College, originally got him his first job in coaching at the junior varsity level at Riverside Poly High School.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guy I was working for at the time said we had a JV coach opening and I couldn\u2019t let him turn it down because I knew the impact he could have on others,\u201d Downer said.<\/p>\n
At the time, Smith was a customer service representative at a bank, with dreams of a future in academia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my mind, I was going to be the next young bright professor at Harvard University,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
For Smith, it was an opportunity out of left field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me he didn\u2019t have time being an English major,\u201d Downer remembered. \u201cIt didn\u2019t jump off the page to him at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Justin presented me with coaching I never thought I could be impactful in this business,\u201d Smith added. \u201cI wasn\u2019t a guy who broke down X\u2019s and O\u2019s as a player. But I trusted him and his vision for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Downer, Smith was a natural.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t really get good at coaching out of nowhere and he has,\u201d Downer said.<\/p>\n
Smith remembered it a little differently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was coach Krzyzewski and we were at Duke,\u201d Smith said. \u201cTo my regret, I was a little too hard on them. But I really enjoyed it. I was invigorated helping kids grow from what they thought they were to what they thought they could be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long term, Smith wants to remain in coaching, but he doesn\u2019t want it to be the only pursuit in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want it to be infinite and I don\u2019t want it to be what I do for the duration of my life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cMy dream is to be a head coach one day, but by the time I am 55, or 60, I want to be writing books and teaching creative writing.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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In the rare moments of free time afforded to a college basketball coach, Point Loma Nazarene men\u2019s assistant coach Julius Smith likes to unwind with words, as a reader, writer, and linguist. \u201cI don\u2019t like to be singular in my mindset,\u201d Smith said. \u201cA lot of different things fill my cup: creative writing; reading a […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1178,"featured_media":319773,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11553","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"In the rare moments of free time afforded to a college basketball coach, Point Loma Nazarene men\u2019s assistant coach Julius Smith likes to unwind with words, as a reader, writer, and linguist.","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"3","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"","hide":""},"jnews_social_meta":{"fb_title":"","fb_description":"","fb_image":"","twitter_title":"","twitter_description":"","twitter_image":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[11553],"tags":[12413,15207,15208],"class_list":["post-319772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-basketball","tag-julius-smith","tag-point-loma-nazarene"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1178"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319774,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319772\/revisions\/319774"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}