Eastern Michigan Athletics
FEATURE: “All I Wanted To Do Was Ball”
1/16/2025 1:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Through cancer, back surgery, and switching teams, father and son duo prove basketball reflects life
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – Cooper Smith walked into the office like a man used to answering questions. After back surgery derailed his basketball career for four years, you could forgive a slight bitterness. Not Coop. "Grateful to be here," says the 6-foot-1 guard and sixth-oldest player in the NCAA as he slipped into a chair. It is difficult to downplay screws in your spine. "I thought it was the end," his dad and Director of Men's Basketball Player Development Jay Smith later said. The risk was real. According to Coop, he faced a 75 percent success rate, and the surgeon had only performed five similar surgeries previously. The style in which the surgeon reinforced Coop's back is a "one of one," the road to recovery and the likelihood of playing again after such a severe injury even more daunting.
"I just kind of stayed with it," Coop said. "It was extremely hard to see your peers doing their thing in college, and I am lying there with four screws and a rod on my spine. You have those moments when you are like 'this thing better heal.' It was a tough time for sure, but tough times don't last; tough people do." He drew inspiration from nine-year college football player Cam McCormick, who battled through injury to finish his athletic career. McCormick said, "make your mess your message," a line that inspired Coop's recovery from hospital bed back to the court. What was feared to be the end of Coop's career birthed a new beginning when he scored his first points for the Eagles against Loyola Chicago. "It was awesome because I got to play real minutes," and the opportunity gave him motivation to continue to work hard.
"I just kind of stayed with it," Coop said. "It was extremely hard to see your peers doing their thing in college, and I am lying there with four screws and a rod on my spine. You have those moments when you are like 'this thing better heal.' It was a tough time for sure, but tough times don't last; tough people do." He drew inspiration from nine-year college football player Cam McCormick, who battled through injury to finish his athletic career. McCormick said, "make your mess your message," a line that inspired Coop's recovery from hospital bed back to the court. What was feared to be the end of Coop's career birthed a new beginning when he scored his first points for the Eagles against Loyola Chicago. "It was awesome because I got to play real minutes," and the opportunity gave him motivation to continue to work hard.
Cooper Smith's first bucket as an Eagle! 🪣#EMUEagles | #DOMORE pic.twitter.com/3hTIEg4uiB
— Eastern Michigan Men's Basketball (@EMU_MBB) December 4, 2024
Basketball has been a part of life for generations of the Smith family. Jay's dad set a high school basketball scoring record at Mio High School and later served in the Armed Forces as a Marine. Naturally, Grandpa Smith ran a military-style home with structured chores and responsibilities for the children. Between kitchen patrol and bed-making duties, he taught the game to Jay, his brother and sister. Jay's brother broke their dad's high school scoring record, and then Jay broke his brother's record. In fact, Jay still holds the Michigan High School Athletic Association scoring record for career points with 2,841, averaging 29 points per game. Jay's sister also set a Mio High School scoring record and went on to play basketball at the University of Michigan.
Jay's upbringing was in a rural area, but "I wasn't a big fisherman or none of that. I loved watching sports back when you had three channels in black and white. There was one game a week on TBS at one o'clock, so you made sure you watched it." Jay attributes his success to his father's tutelage and the advantage of height. "I had some length, and I enjoyed the competition. I liked the daily grind of getting in shape and working at it." Jay described shoveling the driveway during the winter to make a court. "We had two basketballs. One rubber ball would get frozen, so I would return to the wood-heated home, grab the other one, and shoot outside. That's all I wanted to do was ball." He idolized NBA star Pete Marovich, "Pistol Pete was my guy."
Jay's upbringing was in a rural area, but "I wasn't a big fisherman or none of that. I loved watching sports back when you had three channels in black and white. There was one game a week on TBS at one o'clock, so you made sure you watched it." Jay attributes his success to his father's tutelage and the advantage of height. "I had some length, and I enjoyed the competition. I liked the daily grind of getting in shape and working at it." Jay described shoveling the driveway during the winter to make a court. "We had two basketballs. One rubber ball would get frozen, so I would return to the wood-heated home, grab the other one, and shoot outside. That's all I wanted to do was ball." He idolized NBA star Pete Marovich, "Pistol Pete was my guy."
The self-discipline Jay learned at home bled onto the court, where he broke records and later in life when he beat cancer, but basketball has changed since the '70s. "The game has become much more athletic. Guys are stronger, faster. Back when we played, there was no weight room. You were not supposed to lift." Coaches back then told players that lifting weights "might throw off your shot." Coop points to his father's adaptability as a strength, "he has evolved so much from head coach at Central to an assistant at Detroit to being head coach again at Kalamazoo to coaching at Michigan, especially his ability to be open to growth and maintain his connections with players."
At age 63, Jay rises early to work out before his players. "I was staying over at his house and just waking up, and he was coming back from a six-mile run," exclaimed Godslove Nwabude, a freshman from Anambra State, Nigeria. "Coach Jay treats everyone the same. He shares love with everyone." Family is everything to Coach Jay. He begins to tear up as he shows photos of former players now turned college coaches. One text message from a player thanks Jay for teaching him the game and how to apply those lessons to life.
At age 63, Jay rises early to work out before his players. "I was staying over at his house and just waking up, and he was coming back from a six-mile run," exclaimed Godslove Nwabude, a freshman from Anambra State, Nigeria. "Coach Jay treats everyone the same. He shares love with everyone." Family is everything to Coach Jay. He begins to tear up as he shows photos of former players now turned college coaches. One text message from a player thanks Jay for teaching him the game and how to apply those lessons to life.
As a basketball coach, Jay has already left his mark on the game, delivering two conference titles as head coach of Central Michigan University and coaching under Juwan Howard at the University of Michigan. His career also includes coaching stints at the fourth, eighth, and ninth-largest universities in the state of Michigan. Characteristically, Jay credits remaining current, competent, and character-filled as the secret. As a recent success story, he pointed to former 6-foot-10 Michigan center Tarris Reid Jr., who recently transferred to the University of Connecticut. "At Michigan, Tarris was a 40 percent free throw shooter, but last night he knocked down two free throws in overtime to beat Xavier. Every day after practice at Michigan, we did free throws."
His son calls Jay "a legend in his own right" and chose his father's jersey number 45 to wear as a player for the Green and White. "He paved the way in Mio, being as good as he was. It was cool to wear 45 and make a name for myself with it." Coop recalled going to his dad's practices at CMU as one of his earliest memories. "My NBA was all of his teams, all those guys." He remembers tagging along on team trips with former Central Michigan player TJ Meerman who later became a high-school basketball state championship coach, NBA draft pick Chris Kaman, and international pro-baller Mike Manciel.
His son calls Jay "a legend in his own right" and chose his father's jersey number 45 to wear as a player for the Green and White. "He paved the way in Mio, being as good as he was. It was cool to wear 45 and make a name for myself with it." Coop recalled going to his dad's practices at CMU as one of his earliest memories. "My NBA was all of his teams, all those guys." He remembers tagging along on team trips with former Central Michigan player TJ Meerman who later became a high-school basketball state championship coach, NBA draft pick Chris Kaman, and international pro-baller Mike Manciel.
Coop loved baseball and football growing up, but he modeled his effort after Jay once he took to basketball. "Seeing my dad work - it never shuts off for him." It is the same resilience his son emulated to return to the hardwood after major back surgery against his father's wishes. "I was more worried for his long-term health. His mom was more for wanting him to play," Jay mused half-seriously. As a father, he wondered if it was worth a potential future with an arthritic back or other long-term problems as a result of the operation, but in the end, it was Coop's decision to make. "He has battled through it and figured it out, and he has had good doctors to help him." Coop's mother Tymi agrees. "He has his dad's fight," she said. "Looking back, we didn't want to decide for him." Tymi and Jay grew up together, so she would know. Her family also hails from a basketball background, with her father and brother coaching high school varsity in Mio.
Jay took a hands-off approach with Coop's early basketball motivation because "the drive has to come from the athlete." It worked. "He wasn't going to force me to go to the gym. He let me fuel my own passion", his son said. Coop describes getting up early and driving into work with his father, then coaching basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy. Jay would go upstairs at Calihan Hall to work, and Coop would use the basketball shooting gun in the empty 8,000-seat basketball arena and dream of playing the game. That passion grew into training others and his own basketball summer camp based on early references from his dad's camps at Central Michigan University. "He would have Rose Arena rocking with so many kids. My uncle is a coach too who has run a camp for 40 years." The references only went so far. Coop quickly figured out insurance coverages, payment systems, and scheduling gym time while recruiting his mom and sister to run front door registration.
Jay took a hands-off approach with Coop's early basketball motivation because "the drive has to come from the athlete." It worked. "He wasn't going to force me to go to the gym. He let me fuel my own passion", his son said. Coop describes getting up early and driving into work with his father, then coaching basketball at the University of Detroit Mercy. Jay would go upstairs at Calihan Hall to work, and Coop would use the basketball shooting gun in the empty 8,000-seat basketball arena and dream of playing the game. That passion grew into training others and his own basketball summer camp based on early references from his dad's camps at Central Michigan University. "He would have Rose Arena rocking with so many kids. My uncle is a coach too who has run a camp for 40 years." The references only went so far. Coop quickly figured out insurance coverages, payment systems, and scheduling gym time while recruiting his mom and sister to run front door registration.
"Coop is a winner. He loves winning and goes hard at every drill. He brings energy daily and tries to hold everyone to a standard," freshman Nigerian transfer and teammate, Godslove Nwabude explained. "He is just an all-around good teammate." Nwabude also insisted Coop's playlist has some "bangers," a true nod of approval. "I love where I am. The guys we have, the staff we have. I wouldn't change it," Coop agreed. Privately, he looks back fondly on his time on the University of Michigan basketball team under then-head coach Juwan Howard. Describing the 2023-24 season as a chance to watch another iconic coach up close, Coop also built lasting friendships with players like Hunter Dickinson and Will Tschetter. He even became the de facto team barber, a nod to his ability to build trust and develop personal relationships.
Few acronyms have become a household name in college basketball as quickly as "NIL", the recent landmark changes to NCAA rules and laws now allow college athletes to profit from use of their name, image, and likeness. Coop supports the changes but believes the current system needs more structure. "The way it is set up with the portal is free agency every year. There is no regulation." He thinks it will get worse before it gets better.
To watch Coop and Jay talk feels like eavesdropping on two coaches from different generations comparing notes. Basketball is the language. Work is the code. "He would be great at player development as a coach," says Nwabude, ironically about the son of the head of Player Development for EMU basketball, "he is a good motivator and would build a winning culture." Coach Jay agreed, "his strength is his basketball IQ. He has great knowledge and work ethic. He is going to follow through." The end leaves the door open for a new beginning again.
Few acronyms have become a household name in college basketball as quickly as "NIL", the recent landmark changes to NCAA rules and laws now allow college athletes to profit from use of their name, image, and likeness. Coop supports the changes but believes the current system needs more structure. "The way it is set up with the portal is free agency every year. There is no regulation." He thinks it will get worse before it gets better.
To watch Coop and Jay talk feels like eavesdropping on two coaches from different generations comparing notes. Basketball is the language. Work is the code. "He would be great at player development as a coach," says Nwabude, ironically about the son of the head of Player Development for EMU basketball, "he is a good motivator and would build a winning culture." Coach Jay agreed, "his strength is his basketball IQ. He has great knowledge and work ethic. He is going to follow through." The end leaves the door open for a new beginning again.
Players Mentioned
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