Katie Smith returns home to Ohio State, helps Buckeyes enjoy the process

 

Michael Arace

Columbus Dispatch

March 22, 2025

Ohio State, a No. 4 seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament, will face No. 5 Tennessee in a second-round game at 8 p.m. Sunday at Value City Arena. No doubt, fans of Ohio State and Tennessee sports are thinking about a recent meeting between these institutions of higher learning: On Dec. 21, the Buckeyes eviscerated the Volunteers 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoff; the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship.

Katie Smith, who joined Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff's staff in November, can recall another meeting, on a similarly big stage, between the Buckeyes and Volunteers: On March 18, 1996, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee rolled Ohio State 97-65; the Lady Vols went on to win the national championship.

That game from another era, played on Tennessee's home court in Knoxville, was the last of Smith's college playing career. Saturday, after a presumably spirited workout at Value City Arena, she took a moment to reflect. She conjured 1996, when she scored 29 points against Tennessee, to no avail. She conjured 1993, the end of her freshman season, when she led the Buckeyes to the Final Four. She had 28 points in the championship game, to no avail – Sheryl Swoopes scored 47 to lead Texas Tech to an 84-82 victory. It was the closest OSU ever got to an NCAA women's basketball title.

Smith and Swoopes and the late Pat Summitt, who coached Tennessee to eight national titles, are all enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Ultimate success is the product of many things, including caprice.

"That '93 team was such a great team," Smith said. "As I went on to play professionally, I came to realize that those opportunities don't come around very often."

Is that a strange thing to say, coming from a woman who won two ABL titles (with the Columbus Quest), two WNBA titles and three Olympic gold medals as a player? No, it's not.

"It's also on the coaching side," she said. "When you have a special team and you have a talented team, you don't take it for granted – because it's super, super hard to get back to a championship, let alone win it. We try to pass this along to our players. We pick our spots. Jacy (Sheldon), her run to the Elite Eight, that is tough to do. Winning is hard. That's why I have so much respect for UConn, and what Tennessee has done. Teams that win all the time, man, that's not easy."

Sheldon, whose regular job involves playing the point for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, came aboard McGuff's staff with Smith in November. Sheldon played on an Ohio State women's team that advanced to the Elite Eight in 2023, when the Buckeyes upset UConn in the Sweet Sixteen before bowing to Virginia Tech.

Ohio State has made it as far as the Elite Eight just four times – in 1985, under Tara VanDerveer; in 1986 and 1993, under Nancy Darsh; and two years ago. McGuff, in his 12th season, has gotten the Buckeyes into the tournament seven times. He has had some terrific players and excellent teams. His Buckeyes have gone to three Sweet 16s and, as mentioned, one Elite Eight. But scanning a ticket to the Final Four, man, that's hard.

Last year, the Buckeyes had a No. 2 seed and visions of a deep run. They were upset on their home court by No. 7 Duke in the second round.

Smith said her fondest basketball memory dates back to her senior year of high school, when she and Logan made it to the 1992 OHSAA Division I championship game and lost in front of a packed house at St. John Arena, to Pickerington.

"Those teammates," she said, "they're still all my best buds."

Remember, Smith is one of the most decorated female athletes in America. What is she talking about here? It's about a core philosophy of McGuff's that Smith has always embraced.

"I want these players when they leave Ohio State to say, 'I had a great college experience,'" Smith said. "Whether it's winning or losing, championships or no championships, I still want them to be like, 'I had such a great time, and built relationships, and I played basketball.' That's what we as a staff want, so that's where my heart will always be. Because the game gives you so much.

"A whole life has been given to me because of basketball. It's amazing, because whether it's the pros or here, you want them to have success in their own right, whatever that means, and then make sure they have a good time as they come to work every day."

Last fall, Smith was serving as the top assistant for Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. They had a special team. They lost a best-of-five, WNBA Finals in Game 5. They lost to the New York Liberty, a team Smith served as head coach until her contract wasn't renewed in 2020. Losing to the Liberty stung personally, but that's not her main takeaway.

"You want the players to have success," she said. "I hope against Tennessee, we have great energy and I hope we do it together. Whatever happens after that, you just want to feel good about whatever you did, that you gave it your all. Yeah, you're going to make mistakes, you're going to do whatever, but you want to feel good about the effort and the togetherness. After that, we'll see what happens."

Smith came home to spend more time with her aging parents and add a touch of normalcy to her life with her wife and two children. She's looking forward to spending an entire summer in Ohio. But there's a bit of work left in the spring.

Ohio State vs. Tennessee tips off at 8 p.m., with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

marace@dispatch.com