DALLAS (Marhc 26, 2026) – SMU Head Coach Andy Enfield has named Jason Hart as Associate Head Coach for SMU Men’s Basketball. Hart comes to the Hilltop with 16 years of coaching experience following nine seasons playing in the NBA. He was previously on Enfield's coaching staff at USC for eight seasons from 2013–21.
“We’re thrilled to add Jason to our staff,” said Enfield. “I’ve worked closely with him for years and have seen firsthand the impact he has on players and a program. He’s an outstanding teacher of the game, a strong recruiter, and someone our student-athletes will benefit from every day.”
Hart spent the past two seasons (2024–26) as an assistant coach at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats to a 46–26 record, with a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2025 and the NCAA Second Round in 2026. Two Wildcats – Koby Brea and Amari Williams – were selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, and three others signed NBA contracts as free agents.
Prior to joining the Wildcats, Hart served as the head coach of the NBA’s G League Ignite (2021–24), where he had 10 players selected in the NBA Draft from 2022–24, including five first-round selections.
In eight seasons with Enfield at USC, Hart was an instrumental piece of a staff that helped recruit and develop five NBA Draft selections and earn three NCAA Tournament appearances. In all, the Trojans amassed a 157–110 record and strung together five 20-win seasons and four postseason appearances, including a run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2021. USC signed a top-30 recruiting class in each of his last four seasons, peaking at No. 7 in 2019 by 247Sports.com. In 2019, he was selected for the inaugural Collegiate Coaching Consortium, a collaboration between the NABC and AthleticDirectorU to help train and develop the next group of leaders in the basketball coaching profession.
Hart’s nine-year NBA playing career began when he was selected in the second round of the 2000 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He went on to play for Milwaukee, San Antonio, Charlotte, the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento, Utah, Denver, New Orleans and Minnesota. Four times, his teams qualified for the NBA Playoffs. During the 2004–05 season with Charlotte, he finished third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Hart also played a season in Greece (2002–03).
Hart retired from the NBA in December 2010 and began coaching on the AAU circuit from 2010–12. He was named the head coach at Taft High School in Los Angeles for the 2011–12 season, leading the program to a 29–4 record. He was named LA City Coach of the Year after Taft earned a 10–0 league record, the Los Angeles City Section Division I title, and a trip to the second round of the Division I state championships. He began his collegiate coaching career under Marty Wilson at Pepperdine for the 2012–13 season before joining Enfield’s staff at USC for the 2013–14 season.
Hart played collegiately at Syracuse (1996–2000), finishing his career as the program’s all-time leader in steals (329) and ranking second all-time in assists (709). He also shares the Syracuse record for most steals in a season with 101 in 1999, a mark he held from 1998–99 until 2013. In his four seasons at Syracuse, Hart helped lead the Orange to the NCAA Tournament three times, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1998 and 2000. He was a member of Syracuse’s All-Century Team, which honored the top 25 players in the program’s history. In 2011, Syracuse awarded him the Vic Hanson Medal of Excellence.
Hart graduated from Syracuse in 2000 with a degree in sociology. He and his wife, Brandi, have two children, Jason and Justin.
