Carleton Ravens coach Dave Smart explains his sabbatical from CIS

Dave Smart says taking a season off from the Carleton Ravens ties into affirming he's staying in the nation's capital, and in Canadian university basketball.

Each spring, after the Ravens finish capturing another Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball banner, speculation begins anew that it's just a matter of when a higher-profile hoops operation will snap up Smart. On Friday, after Hoopstars Canada broke the news that Smart will take a sabbatical from coaching the CIS juggernaut this season, with long-time assistant coach (and nephew) Rob Smart Jr. taking over, Smart explained the choice is about augmenting his roots at Carleton.

Along with coaching the Ravens, who have a longer season than a NCAA Division I program under the more liberal CIS rules, Smart is also Jay Triano's assistant coach with Canada's men's national team, which plays a FIBA Americas Olympic qualifier next month. He and his spouse Emily also have a young family with children Theo, 6, and Gabriel, 3.

Smart plans to dedicate the roundball respite to family and professional development.

"This has all come about in the last two years, with my parents both passing away, with working with the national team and with Carleton playing 8½ months a year," Smart said on Friday afternoon. "Yes, I'd love to see how it [building a basketball program] is in other places, but we want to stay at Carleton, stay in Ottawa. For us, it's a question of, 'do you want to stay at Carleton, stay in Ottawa? Or do you expand by taking a job somewhere else?

"By doing this, I'm making a commitment to be at Carleton as long as I coach," Smart added. "I'll have a lot more family time. It's a perfect time to do it. The timing was right because I have two teams [Carleton and the national team]. I'm hopefully going to be really busy next summer if we qualify for the Olympics."

Team Canada needs to finish in the top two at the FIBA Americas, which takes place in Mexico City from Aug. 31-Sept. 12, in order to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. The national team, using a roster that included some players who will be part of the run for Rio, won the silver medal at the Pan Am Games this month.

On the university basketball side, Smart's step back means one-quarter of coaches from the past CIS Final 8 will be off the sideline. Windsor Lancers coach Chris Oliver is also taking the season off.

"Dave wants to pursue some professional development after being with us for 16 years," Carleton director of athletics and recreation Jennifer Brenning said. "It's quite commonplace  in university. Professors do it regularly. Dave has worked more than any coach than I know and I have worked with him for 10 years. There's some potential opportunities to go down to the NCAA and work with with coaches that he knows."

Carleton won its fifth consecutive CIS title, and 11th in 13 seasons, last March by defeating cross-town rival Ottawa in the final for the second year in a row. There is a changing of the guard taking place at the Ravens' Nest, though, since sibling stars Phil Scrubb and Thomas Scrubb have graduated. Carleton does have a strong recruiting class and, given how they have set the bar, one would foresee the Ravens being a Top 5 team nationally. Ontario University Athletics challengers Ottawa and Ryerson, the silver and bronze medallists at the Final 8, are also in transition after respectively bidding adieu to scoring guards Johnny Berhanesmeskel and Jahmal Jones.

Rob Smart Jr., 36, who is Dave's nephew, has regularly served as an interim coach during August exhibition games in recent seasons.

"Rob's been unbelievable to me for so many years," Dave Smart said. "I'm not sure if he wants to be a head coach for the long haul, but he'll do a great job.

"I'll be around helping the guys," Smart said. "Just not at the practices and games."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @naitSAYger.