Former Kentucky basketball player Bill Smith passes away at 87

Former Kentucky basketball player Bill Smith has passed away at Our Hospice of South Central Indiana Inpatient Facility, the school announced Wednesday. He was 87.

Born on Feb. 17, 1936 in Walton, Kentucky, Smith played at Walton-Verona High School before going on to star for four season with the Wildcats until 1958. He was a member of UK’s 1957-58 national championship team, nicknamed the “Fiddlin’ Five,” that defeated Seattle 84-72 to claim coach Adolph Rupp’s fourth title. 11 of the 12 player on that team were Kentucky natives.

Although Smith played a limited role in his four seasons in Lexington and was never a starter, Rupp said he made “a valuable contribution to our success” in a letter of recommendation written after Smith’s graduation. The coach added that “we were tempted when he left school to keep him around to help us because of his fine attitude and his extreme loyalty to our program.”

Smith averaged 1.4 points per game over his career. He scored a career-high 10 points in a contest against Georgia during his sophomore season.

“That was probably the best four years of my life,” Smith said in a 2016 article from the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It taught me that if you work hard, you could accomplish anything.”

Bill Smith was later inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. After graduating from Kentucky, he went on to become a teacher and high school basketball coach for 11 years. He then secured a job at Owen County Rural Electric in customer service and worked for 28 years before retiring in 1998.

Smith continued to support the Wildcats throughout his life and was a season ticket holder for UK basketball games. He also enjoyed fishing in his spare time. For the accomplishments he achieved throughout four years at Kentucky, he’ll always hold a special place within the program.

“Coach Rupp was very demanding,” Smith told the Enquirer. “He allowed no foolishness. He was all business. He worked you hard and he expected a lot from you. He got the best out of you. We practiced seven days week.”

Smith is survived by his wife of 66 years, Shirley, his three children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. He and Shirley met in high school and were married in 1957 ahead of Smith’s senior season at UK. No service is planned at this time, per an online obituary.