New leadership for Pirates girls basketball

It had to be a surprising move to Braden River High School girls basketball fans.

Their Pirates had finally assembled a wealth of talent and last season had won the program's first district title with an 89-58 victory over Sarasota High.

Their third-year coach, Kristen Fulmer, had led the team to a 20-7 record which signaled a complete turnaround for the program. Considering the youth on their roster, the Pirates had a very bright future.

And then Fulmer, who was not a teacher, resigned April 3 to concentrate on her career.

Two months later, it appears Braden River won't skip a beat. Stephanie Smith, a former assistant coach and director of operations at Northern Illinois University, was hired May 28.

A four-year player at Northern Illinois (graduating in 2004), Smith worked her way up through the coaching ranks in Illinois after her college graduation. She worked six years as a high school coach, including two years as the head coach of Burlington Central High, where she was 28-28.

In 2011, she became an NIU graduate assistant and held that job until she was promoted to director of basketball operations in 2013. In 2015, she was promoted again, this time to assistant coach of the Huskies. Smith also has experience coaching AAU basketball, including stints with the Illinois Wolverines and Team USA in Elgin.

It was her experience with both high school and college basketball programs that intrigued Pirates athletic director Matt Nesser.

Included in her high school coaching experience, she had helped to send her players to Division I college programs such as Notre Dame, Ball State, Bowling Green and Northern Illinois.

Smith said she takes that part of the coaching job seriously, making sure her athletes are prepared for all facets of college life, not just basketball.

Too often, Smith said, athletes commit to a college that isn’t right for them, either in terms of style of play or academics. That’s why she said the transfer rate in women’s college basketball has risen from 7.6% of players in 2004 to 10% of players in 2016 (according to NCAA figures). Smith said she will make sure her players get where they need to be at the next level.

“She’s going to build character on and off the court,” Nesser said of Smith. “All athletes put down the ball someday. They need to be ready for that.

“Her experience in both (high school and college), and success in both, made her the best fit for the job,” Nesser said.

With the Pirates' wealth of talent, Smith’s skills preparing her athletes for the next level will be tested immediately. Next semester, sophomores O’Mariah Gordon and Cheyenne Stubbs, and junior Julia Rodriguez, all have the potential to play in college, with Gordon among the top-ranked players in the nation. Smith knows the talent she’s inheriting, and is determined to take the Pirates farther than they have ever been.

“They need someone to put it all together,” Smith said. “Someone who is going to make them better and not just settle.”

Smith talked to the team via Skype in May, and will officially move to the area from Illinois in July. When she arrives, she plans to start team activities promptly, Despite Florida High School Athletic Association rules stating players can transfer to the school of their choice, Gordon said she (and the rest of Braden River’s core) isn’t going anywhere. She was impressed during the Skype session with Smith, she said, and quickly figured out that the new head coach was all about “work, work, work.”

That’s good, Gordon said, because it will push her and her teammates to be their best. Gordon said she believes Smith will boost the confidence of the players as well, leading to more scoring options on offense since teams can’t guard everyone closely. Gordon said her goal is to increase her assist numbers next season. She averaged 6.4 per game in 2017-2018.

“She’s going to be a really good coach for us,” Gordon said. “She’s going to love us but be real with us.”

Smith said she coaches a “run-and-gun, in-your-face” style. Braden River is going to be fun to watch, Smith said, and is going to play with heart. She also wants to build a program for the long run.

“I want us to win big in the next three years,” Smith said. “I think that’s a realistic goal. But I don’t want us to just be good for three years. I want us to be good for the next 10.”