PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – While Mark Schmidt’s head coaching career will likely end where it began in Pittsburgh this week, it wasn’t to be on Wednesday. A resounding 99-80 St. Bonaventure win over LaSalle in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at PPG Paints Arena.
“We shot the ball well, 13-24 from three,” Schmidt said. “We shared the ball with 24 assists. As I told the team in tournament play, you got to win the first one. I thought our guys really played hard, played together unselfishly.”
Barring winning the tournament as a 13-seed, it is the final week in Schmidt’s distinguished career and he coached this year with his son, Nick, as an assistant. Not that Schmidt is giving up on this 16-16 season. He said he’s done this for a long time and an unexpected run to the NCAA Tournament ‘it’s been done before’.
“I don’t think it affects us at all, (although) you might play for him a little bit more,” said guard Amar’e Marshall of Schmidt’s final year. “He’s one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met. He wants us to play for each other and not focus on the outside noise.”
“I’ve done this a long time, it’s time for a new voice,” Schmidt said. “If I’m only known as Coach Schmidt, I’ve failed in life. There is a lot more to me. I want to do a lot of other things. Once you get to 75, (stuff) ain’t going right. You are in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank. I don’t want to be 75 and my life pushing me around in a wheelchair.”
Schmidt’s second job in coaching was an assistant to Bruce Parkhill at Penn State from 1991-93. He was then hired by Pittsburgh native Skip Prosser at Loyola (Maryland) and followed him the next season to Xavier where they made four NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT Tournaments in seven years together.
The Boston College grad’s first head coaching job was at Robert Morris, going 17-11 in his final season (82-90 overall) and then hired by athletic director Steve Watson at St. Bonaventure in 2007. Schmidt turned the Bonnies program around winning 340 games, and still counting.
“I want to enjoy what I have left with my family, my friends in Olean,” Schmidt said, adding it’s been humbling how many people in college basketball have reached out to him in the last week.
“There are no regrets. I’ve been really lucky to be a head coach. I never thought when I graduated from Boston College I would get into coaching. I’ve been really blessed to have the opportunity to coach this storied program.”
“I’ve been very lucky. There is no sadness, I’m ready to go.”