Kentucky will retire Tubby Smith's jersey tomorrow at 11:40 a.m.

If you’re going to tomorrow’s game vs. High Point, arrive early. At 11:40 a.m., 20 minutes prior to tipoff, Kentucky will retire Tubby Smith’s jersey. Tubby and his High Point Panthers arrived in Lexington today. The High Point social media account shared this great picture of the former Kentucky coach in his old stomping grounds:

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐮𝐩𝐩#OurCityOurUniversity x #GoHPU pic.twitter.com/wngUewF0ts

— HPU Men's Basketball (@HPUMBB) December 30, 2021

Tubby’s will be the 44th retired jersey to hang in the rafters of Rupp Arena alongside fellow national championship coaches Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, and Rick Pitino. A former assistant under Pitino (1989-91), Tubby took over for his old boss in May 1997, coaching the Cats to a national championship in his first season. He resigned from his position in March 2007 to take the job at Minnesota. In 2013, he was elected to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.

During his 10 years at Kentucky, Tubby coached the Cats to at least 22 victories each season, totaling a 263-83 record (76.0%). His teams won five regular-season SEC championships and five SEC Tournament crowns, featuring a league championship (regular season or tournament) in seven of his 10 years. His teams went to the NCAA Tournament in all 10 seasons, including six Sweet 16s.

Tubby was named National Coach of the Year three times (1998, 2003, 2005), and won SEC Coach of the Year three times as well. He also was head coach at Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas Tech, and Memphis before his current post at his alma mater.  He enters Friday’s game with a career head-coaching record of 637-362.

Pack Rupp for Tubby

There are still tickets available for tomorrow’s game. Last night, John Calipari called for fans to pack Rupp for the occasion.

“We wanted this moment for him,” Calipari said of Friday’s celebration. “The job that he did, part of it is, you want guys like him and Coach Hall to really understand how appreciated they are by our fan base. What they did while they were here, winning national titles, doing it with class. Tubby deserves to be in the rafters.”

“We need people to fill their seats for Tubby. He should leave this building and there should be no doubt that we all love him. There should be no doubt.”