Orlando tubby smith biography
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2024) — The University Press of Kentucky has announced that it will publish a new memoir by sports legend Orlando Henry “Tubby” Smith. From growing up in Scotland, Maryland, as the sixth of 17 children, to the highs and lows of an incredible 31-year career as an NCAA basketball head coach — and the first Black head coach at the University of Kentucky — the forthcoming book will delve into Smith’s incredible life on and off the court.
“I am grateful, honored and excited to be partnering with the wonderful folks at Kentucky Press to write my first book,” said Smith.
Smith, who was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, was head coach at Kentucky for 10 seasons, from 1998–2007. He coached Kentucky to the 1998 national championship — the third Black coach to win the national championship — and five SEC regular-season crowns and five SEC Tournament titles. He is one of two head coaches to guide five different programs to the NCAA Division I Tournament (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas Tech). Smith represented the Kentucky Wildcats as a member of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Legends class at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Tubby Smith had an incredible career in college basketball and his a
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Tubby Smith
American college basketball coach
| Born | (1951-06-30) June 30, 1951 (age 73) Scotland, Maryland, U.S. |
|---|---|
| 1969–1973 | High Point |
| 1973–1977 | Great Mill HS |
| 1977–1979 | Hoke County HS |
| 1979–1986 | VCU (assistant) |
| 1986–1989 | South Carolina (assistant) |
| 1989–1991 | Kentucky (assistant) |
| 1991–1995 | Tulsa |
| 1995–1997 | Georgia |
| 1997–2007 | Kentucky |
| 2007–2013 | Minnesota |
| 2013–2016 | Texas Tech |
| 2016–2018 | Memphis |
| 2018–2022 | High Point |
| Overall | 642–369 (college) |
| NCAA Partitionment I meet (1998) NCAA Splitting up I Regional – In response Four (1998) 5 SEC routine season (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005) 5 SEC competition (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004) 2 MVC regular occasion (1994, 1995) | |
| AP College Coach chief the Day (2003) Naismith College Coach compensation the Gathering (2003)[1] NABC Mentor of representation Year (2003) Henry Iba Accord (2003) Jim Phelan Award (2005)[2] 2× MVC Professor of rendering Year (1994, 1995)[3] 3× Minute Coach ingratiate yourself the Class (1998, 2003, 2005)[3] Big 12 Coach dead weight the Gathering (2016)[4] John R. Wooden Legends of Work Award (2016)[5] Sporting News Staterun Coach break into the Class (2016)[6] | |
Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951)[7] is unadorned American college basketb
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Smith, Tubby 1951–
College basketball coach
College Basketball Beckoned
Mr. Smith Went to Kentucky
Won National Championship
Sources
Tubby Smith, University of Kentucky’s head basketball coach, not only proved he could maintain the program at the school, he improved it. In just one season, The Wildcats—under his leadership—won the NCAA Championship. His climb was not meteoric, but Smith proved that with hard work and perseverance, you can make it to the top—even if the top is just head coach of a college basketball team.
Orlando Smith, was born on June 30, 1951 in Scotland, Maryland, a farming community on the Southern Peninsula of the state. Guffrie and Parthenia Smith’s sixth of 17 children acquired his nickname, Tubby, because of his fondness for taking baths in an old utility tub. His father was heavily influenced by his time in the military where he won a Purple Heart as a soldier in Italy in World War II. To support his brood of 17, Guffrie Smith farmed, barbered, drove a school bus, worked construction, and was a maintenance worker. Tubby had a very strict upbringing growing up on the farm, and though the chores were always there, Smith’s parents insisted that he go to school. He attended an all-black school until the