Back in 2016, when the San Francisco hired former San Diego, Air Force and Saint Mary’s assistant and Columbia head coach Kyle Smith to replace Rex Walters on The Hilltop, as USF’s campus is known, Rose predicted immediate success for his longtime friend.
Rose said three years ago that Smith, whom Richmond coach Chris Mooney once called “the smartest man in college basketball,” would have the Dons challenging BYU and Saint Mary’s for a spot in the West Coast Conference’s Big Three with Gonzaga.
San Francisco (3-1 WCC, 15-3 overall) is arguably the second-best team in the league this year, behind Gonzaga, of course, and the early favorite to earn the league’s all-important No.