Coaching friends become foes when Siena basketball opens at Bryant

Siena head coach Nevada Smith during the first official day of men's basketball practice on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, in Colonie, NY. (Jim Franco/Times Union) (Jim Franco/Times Union) On his way to becoming the new Siena men's basketball coach, Nevada Smith got an assist from former Saints head coach Jamion Christian.Christian made a phone call in 2020 to recommend Smith to then-Texas coach Shaka Smart, who hired Smith as his director of program development. Smith worked for Smart for six years during stops at Texas and Marquette until Siena hired Smith last April."I've known Jamion a long time," Smith said. "I have a lot of respect for him."They'll meet again Monday night when Siena faces Bryant University in the opener in Smithfield, R.I. While Smith is making his regular-season debut as a Division I head coach, Christian is entering his second season as Bulldogs head coach."I'm glad that this thing has kind of come full circle and we get a chance to compete against each other a little bit," said Christian, who led Siena in 2018-19.Smith visited a Siena practice during Christian's lone season in Loudonville. At the time, Smith was the head coach for the NBA G League's Sioux Falls Skyforce, an affiliate of the Miami Heat. Smith lived in Saratoga Springs with his wife during the offseason.When Smith was head coach at Division III Keystone College in Pennsylvania in 2012-13, he made the three-hour drive to watch practice at Mount St. Mary's, where Christian was in his first season as head coach.Christian already had ties to Smart. He was an assistant under Smart at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011-12.Years later, Smith asked Christian to make a call to Smart on his behalf about the Texas opening."I'm really happy for (Smith)," Christian said. "To see someone have this kind of rise, I think, is really special. I know he'll do a great job there at Siena and carry that legacy and do it with a lot of pride."Smith and Christian were together for a season at Marquette in 2022-23, the year that Christian was out of coaching after being fired by George Washington. While Smith was a special assistant to Smart, Christian served as a consultant for the Golden Eagles, who won the Big East championship that season."It'll be fun to play against (Christian) and play against his team," Smith said. "I know he'll do a great job."Bryant went 9-22 last year in Christian's debut season, which began with an 82-66 loss to Siena at MVP Arena.The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the America East Conference preseason coaches poll released in September."I'm always optimistic, people would say, but I do think this team has championship-level quality to it," Christian said.Bryant returns 6-11 graduate forward Keegan Harvey, named preseason all-conference, and sophomore combination guard Ty Tabales, who made the all-rookie team last season.During the offseason, Christian added Georgia Tech transfer Eric Chatfield Jr., a 6-foot sophomore guard whom Christian said "has a chance to be Player of the Year in the league." He also brought in former St. Bonaventure wing Duane Thompson, who will be the sixth man. Other newcomers are 6-9 sophomore transfer Onyx Nnani from South Florida and former New Haven guard Andre Pasha.Christian said he and Smith share some of the same basketball values, though Smith is more influenced by the pro game."We both believe in scoring quickly and shooting a lot of 3s," Christian said. "We'll get a chance to learn what he values on the defensive side of it."Monday will mark the first real Division I game for Siena freshman Tim Ibukunoluwa, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds in an 81-76 exhibition loss to Syracuse at MVP Arena on Oct. 18.However, Ibukunoluwa didn't think that encouraging performance in front of a large crowd against a big-name opponent means much going into Monday's opener."I think to us it really doesn't matter," he said. "It's just another game. It wasn't a proper game. That's what exhibitions are for. I feel like this is the real test against Bryant on Monday."Siena will begin pursuit of a second straight Metro Conference title. They won the title last year under Gerry McNamara, who departed to become head coach at Syracuse."We're really excited to get out there," Smith said. "We continue to grow since our last public appearance a couple of Sundays ago, so I'm excited to see what we can do."This ends Siena and Bryant's contract, which began before Smith or Christian were hired. If the series doesn't continue, Christian said, he could see Siena and Bryant meeting in closed scrimmages every year.SubscribeThere’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Coaching friends become foes when Siena basketball opens at Bryant.