Cal Poly adds former NBA scout to basketball coaching staff, promotes ex-Mustangs player

Cal Poly’s former director of basketball operations has taken on a new role on the team.

Jamal Smith, son of Cal Poly men’s basketball head coach John Smith, assumed his new role assistant coach on July 10.

Replacing Jamal Smith as Cal Poly’s basketball operations director is former NBA scout Adam Helmer.

Smith has played basketball at the collegiate and professional level, including a stint with the Mustangs in the 2019-20 season before playing overseas in Armenia.

The 26-year-old credits his year-long stint as director of basketball operations at Montana State as one of the “biggest influences” on him as a coach.

Now he wants to bring the same winning culture to the Mustangs.

“We’re much better than what our record has shown,” Smith said. “I think once our guys can get that and embody that, I think we’ll see more wins.”

What former NBA scout brings to Cal Poly coaching staff

Helmer acknowledged that he doesn’t come from a traditional basketball background.

He described himself as a “5-foot-10 unathletic white guy” who played football in high school.

“My basketball future was somewhat limited,” Helmer said.

However, Helmer said, he was a huge fan of the NBA who tracked how analytics was shaping the way professional basketball organizations made decisions.

“I tried to figure out ways I could affect the game and ways that I could help the coaching staff,” Helmer said.

He worked his way up in the San Diego State men’s basketball program, providing analytical insights into the team’s performances while also watching film. He focused on creating lineup data to show the coaching staff which groups on the floor played the best together.

After his stint with the Aztecs, Helmer went on to work for the Golden State Warriors and their G-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors. He did scouting breakdowns of draft prospects such as Jordan Poole and James Wisemen and helped with the day-to-day running of the team.

Helmer then moved on to Allegiant Athletics Agency, where he helped identify prospects for the agency, but he wanted to get back on the team side.

“One of the things I missed most was working with the players,” Helmer said.

Helmer’s experience breaking down film and running operations stood out in Cal Poly’s search for a new director of basketball operations, Smith said.

“I wanted to find someone that had no ties to me and no ties to the school, and see if I could find a great candidate, and his resume popped out,” Smith said of Helmer. “Everything that we were looking for in that position he had already done at the highest level.”

Helmer said he and Smith “clicked immediately.”

“I did a little research on him trying to figure out who I’d be working for, and I don’t think there’s one person I talked to that had a bad word to say about him,” Helmer said. “Everyone really respects him. They respect his character, his integrity.”

Helmer won’t be alone as a new member of the program. The Mustangs are bringing in eight new players this season: three true freshmen, three junior college transfers and two four-year university transfers.

The overall focus for Helmer and the rest of the staff is re-establishing the culture for the new team.

“We dropped some things toward the end of the games a lot of the time last year,” Helmer said. “So getting guys with the mental fortitude that are gonna allow us to push through is going to be conductive of success.”

Former player says experience helps his coaching

Unlike Helmer, Smith knows Cal Poly’s head coach very well, as well as the San Luis Obispo university’s program and Big West Conference.

Smith played for Cal State Fullerton for four seasons and helped the Titans win the 2018 Big West Championship.

As “someone that’s played in the conference, someone that’s won in this conference as a player, he can impart that knowledge on these young guys we’re bringing in,” John Smith said.

Jamal Smith makes his share of observations from the sideline, but he’s also known to get on the floor himself and show players exactly what he sees.

Often, he can be found with his shoes laced working out with the rest of the team in Mott Athletic Center.

Smith served as director of basketball operations at Montana State in 2021-22. In his lone season with the Bobcats, he assisted the team in winning the Big Sky championship and observed how Bobcats head coach Danny Sprinkle operates one of the stronger teams in the Big Sky.

He joined the Mustangs coaching staff prior to the 2022-23 season.

According to John Smith, his son took on the role of an assistant coach midway through the previous season after Cal Poly third assistant coach Darren French stepped down from the team due to health reasons.

Jamal Smith was “well prepared,” for the role, his father said.

As a former guard, Smith has assisted in developing the backcourt for Cal Poly. He played a crucial role in the development of now-senior Kobe Sanders last season when he started to take a more central role on the team at the point guard spot.

“Every player needs to be coached differently and uniquely,” Smith said. “I think me understanding that as a young guy and being able to connect with (players) and just applying things that I’ve learned from overseas or previous staffs I’ve worked on. I think having that knowledge is great.”

What the future holds for the Mustangs

The Mustangs are looking to bounce back after a season filled with highs and lows.

Under John Smith, the program accumulated its best out-of-conference record at 6-6 and the team showed it could make a clear step up from prior seasons.

However, the Mustangs went on to have a program history-worst 18-game losing streak in conference play. The Mustangs were within a few possessions of winning many of their games, but they couldn’t pull out a victory to end the slump.

Despite the poor end to the season, the Mustangs pulled off an upset win over Long Beach State in the first round of the Big West tournament. The team ultimately fell to UC Santa Barbara in the next round, and the Gauchos went on to win the Big West.

“Last year, I tried to amass as much talent as possible and focus on being one of the most talented, most athletic teams,” Smith said. “This year, I focused on getting the guys that fit this community, this locker room and my vision of how we want to play, so people can conform to how we want to play.”

As Helmer broke down film of the team from the year prior, he pointed out that they were a strong defensive team, but the pieces last year didn’t completely fit.

This upcoming season, Helmer believes the team has the speed and defensive versatility that matches Smith’s vision.

“I think the transfer portal has given us that opportunity where before you’d have to bring in a freshman to (develop them),” Helmer said. “With basically an entirely new team, I think the vision is finally in place there.”