Smith throws in the towel at C-GCC

GREENPORT — Columbia-Greene Community College is without a head men’s basketball coach less than a month before the regular season is scheduled to kick off.

Three-year head coach Brian Smith abruptly resigned this week, leaving the program scrambling 10 days prior to the team’s first preseason scrimmage at Mohawk Valley Community College on Oct. 13.

“I had an opportunity come up unexpectedly,” Smith said on Thursday, though he couldn’t expand into what that opportunity is.

“Last month was very tough,” he said. “Between coaching high school golf and doing the college workouts, it was a lot. I thought I could do it all, but as the season got closer, I realized I couldn’t. Then this situation arose and I had to take it.”

As a head coach, Smith went 26-57 over three seasons with his best outing coming last year when the Twins went 11-16. Prior to being named the head coach, Smith was an assistant for the Walter Rickard-led team that went 17-13 during the 2014-15 campaign and made the Region III tournament.

In his three seasons at the helm, C-GCC went 6-23, 9-18 and 11-16.

“Coach Smith did a good job here, he had some good teams for us. We wish him the best in whatever he does next,” C-GCC president James Campion said.

The regular season begins on Nov. 2 with the team hosting its annual Goldberg Classic.

An assistant coach is likely to take over the vacancy while new acting Athletic Director Nick Dyer conducts a search for a new head coach.

“We might have a permanent coach named by the start of the season, but with it being so close to the start, we may not,” Campion said.

The C-GCC team currently has 14 players on its roster, including Hudson’s Mike Alert and Daniel Folds.