Jaime Smith is in his second season as assistant coach at UIC, joining the staff in April 2024. He leads the Flames' player development operations and serves as the program's primary liaison to campus housing. Smith also is a key contributor to UIC's offensive strategic planning and assists with recruiting, video coordination and sports performance (strength training) activities.
During his first season at UIC (2024-25), the Flames finished with a 17-14 record and tied for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. UIC also registered its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1 & 2 wins (second-best in the Valley). What's more, the Flames posted five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State, and produced the program's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in MVC) in the past 30 years.
An accomplished player at the college and professional levels, Smith started in the coaching ranks in 2023-24 as director of player development at Longwood University. In his lone season with the Lancers, Smith helped the program to a 21-win season, a Big South Conference Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Individually, Smith helped tutor second-team All-Big South guard (and conference tournament MVP) Walyn Napper and Big South All-Freshman Team selection Emanuel Richards while at Longwood.
“Having recently made the transition from playing to coaching, Jaime is in the unique position of having just walked the same path that many of our players will be looking to follow in the coming years,” UIC head coach Rob Ehsan said. “He knows what it takes, not only to succeed at the college level but also to advance to the professional ranks.”
Smith began coaching after a nine-year professional career in Europe that included stops in France, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine, Belgium, Switzerland and Portugal. Along the way, he won the FIBA Europe Cup, qualified for the Basketball Champions League, earned multiple trips to the league and Europe Cup finals and was a three-time all-league selection.
As a collegiate student-athlete, Smith enjoyed tremendous success at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, leading the Chargers to four consecutive Gulf South Conference championships, a GSC Tournament crown, four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and two trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. He was also chosen as a National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American and the GSC Player of the Year in 2012-13 and was a three-time all-conference choice as well as a member of the GSC All-Decade First Team (2010-11 to 2019-20).
Along with his coaching and playing resume, Smith has worked at J Smith Hoops since 2008 as a head coach, trainer and camp director to help players build basketball skills.
