Tubby Smith steps down at High Point, eyes retirement

A former Kentucky National Champion may have coached his final college basketball game. High Point University announced Tubby Smith has stepped down as the school’s head basketball coach after four seasons.

Smith has been absent from the High Point sideline for the last three weeks after contracting COVID-19 for the second time in a calendar year. G.G. Smith, his son and a current High Point assistant, will take over as the Panthers’ interim head coach. High Point is 11-15, 5-7 in Big South play this year.

“I feel blessed to have had an amazing career leading, coaching and teaching great young men at first-class institutions,” the 70-year-old said in a statement. “Working at my alma mater during this stage of my career has been a dream. I’m thrilled that G.G. will be taking over as head coach. He will do a super job. Moving forward Donna and I will continue the work we have done for over two decades to support and assist the University as proud alums of HPU. HPU will always have a very special place in our hearts as we met and fell in love here at High Point. Our commitment and passion for HPU will never wane and we intend to continue be an integral part of its growth and prosperity well into the future.”

Even though the statement did not explicitly state he is retiring, Tubby Smith appears to be calling it a career. Tubby brought his team to Rupp Arena on New Year’s Eve to see the Wildcats honor the 1998 National Champion by hanging a banner in the rafters to retire his head coaching jersey. Kentucky defeated High Point 92-48.

The Lengthy Tubby Smith Resume

From 1997-2007, the introduction of Kentucky’s starting lineups concluded with an echo throughout Rupp Arena: “And now your head coach of the Wildcats, Orlandoooooooooo TUBBY SMITH!”

The first African-American head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky reached the top of the college basketball world in his first season, leading the Comeback Cats to the 1998 National Championship. Over the next decade he won five SEC regular season and conference tournament championships, including the first perfect SEC season in UK history in 2003. The Wildcats did not return to the Final Four under Smith, falling short in three Elite Eights (1999, 2003, 2005). He departed UK in 2007 with a record of 263–83 (.760). He was inducted into the UK Hall of Fame in 2013.

Smith is one of only three head coaches to take five teams to the NCAA Tournament. He received an Olympic Gold Medal as an assistant for Team USA at the Sydney game in 2000. In addition to his lengthy accolades on the court, you will be hard-pressed to find a better leader of young men than the generous Tubby Smith.