CHARLES Smith will return as head coach at City of Birmingham Rockets next season – after a history-making campaign for the club.
Smith and his team brought the BCB Trophy back to Birmingham earlier this year, to mark the city’s first major basketball honour since the Bullets’ play-off success in 1998.
Rockets beat the Yorkshire Dragons 85-66 in Nottingham last March – and put the city back on the basketball map.
Coach Smith said: “I’m proud to return as Head Coach of The City of Birmingham Basketball Club. Our league trophy win was a statement, but it’s not our final destination.
“We must build on that success, raising our standards and aiming even higher. That work starts now.”
Since joining Rockets two years ago, Smith has overseen a ninth-place finish in his first term, before last season’s third-place finish, BCB Trophy success and BCB Playoff semi-final – marking a significant step forward for the club.
Smith was an assistant coach at fellow BCB side Newcastle Knights after retiring from playing for Super League Basketball (SLB) club Newcastle Eagles in 2016.
He is widely considered one of the greatest British Basketball League players of all time, winning the competition’s Most Valuable Player accolade in 2015.
Smith’s playing career took him to Austria, Turkey, Portugal and Spain – although most of his playing days were in the British Basketball League.
He racked up six British Basketball League championships (2006, 2008-10, 2012 & 2014), three Team of the Year selections (2010, 2011 & 2015), three BBL Trophy MVPs (2005, 2010, 2015), five BBL Trophies (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) and a BBL Cup & BBL Cup MVP in 2012.
