Former Kentucky Guard Amber Smith Named Indiana Women's Basketball Assistant Coach

The Indiana women's basketball program announced the hiring of former Kentucky women's basketball guard and assistant coach Amber Smith as the Hoosiers' new assistant coach.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Indiana women's basketball program announced the hiring of Amber Smith as the program's new assistant coach on Monday.

Smith played guard at the University of Kentucky from 2008-11 appearing in 123 games with 109 starts for the Wildcats. She earned a spot on the 2008 SEC All-Freshman Team and ranks seventh all-time in program history with 425 assists and ninth all time with 3.46 assists per game. 

While playing, she helped Kentucky advance to four postseason tournaments including two appearances in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight round. Smith graduated from Kentucky in 2011 with a degree in integrated strategic communication and later earned her Master's in sports management from Morehead State in 2020.

For the past seven seasons, Smith has been a part of the Kentucky women's basketball staff as a director for player development from 2016-18 and as assistant coach from 2018-23. The Winter Haven, Fla. native helped lead the Wildcats to four NCAA Tournaments during that span. Their most recent appearance dates back to the first round in 2022. 

In Smith's five seasons as assistant coach, Kentucky won the SEC Tournament in 2022 and finished in the top four of the conference in multiple years.

Smith also played a huge role in developing former Kentucky guard and the 2022 No. 1 WNBA Draft pick Rhyne Howard, who's a 12-time All-American. 

“I am thrilled that Amber is joining us in Bloomington," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said. “Amber is passionate, high energy, excellent at building relationships and is the ultimate competitor that will fit in perfectly to our culture. We are excited that she has decided to become a part of our Hoosier family.”

I am beyond EXCITED and GRATEFUL to be joining the Hoosier Family! Let’s go to work! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pH7vjlke7v

— Amber Smith (@CoachA_Smith) June 12, 2023

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