HEAD COACH ORLANDO "TUBBY" SMITH
Fifth
icar at Kentucky
Courtesy of Kentucky Athletics Media Relations Department
Intense. Caring. Fiery. Friendly. Demanding. Humorous. Focused. Family-oriented. The adjectives may seem to contradict one another, but they all apply when describing a successful, multidimensional coach, Orlando "Tubby" Smith. The set of eyes that stare icily toward a missed defensive assignment is the same set of eyes that warmly welcome a stranger into Memorial Coliseum. The shouts that seem to explode from the sideline during the game are from the same vocal chords that create a familiar chuckle heard by Big Blue fans.
So it shouldn't be surprising that Smith has been able to weave these traits into immense success, both on and off the basketball court. Perhaps he was molded by the era in which he was raised, the turbulent '60s. Perhaps it is due more to growing up with 16 siblings in rural America. Perhaps it is because of his loving parents. Perhaps it is basketball.
Regardless, the 50-year-old Smith has completed 10 years as a head basketball coach at the collegiate level, a total of 28 seasons coaching the
It tool! Tubby Smith just 130 games to reach the 100-victory plateau as Kentucky coach.
game he loves. And now, after capturing one national championship, three Southeastern Conference championships and three SEC Tournament titles in four seasons at the University of Kentucky, Smith has a new long-term contract extension through 2007.
Just last season, Smith took one of the youngest teams in the nation  led by seven newcomers and only one senior  and after a rocky 3-5 start, captured a share of the league's regular-season crown and the SEC Tournament title before advancing to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
In the process, he totaled 100 wins at UK quicker than any other Wildcat coach except Hall of Famer Adolph Rupp, reaching the plateau with a 71-70 victory over Florida, Smith's 130th UK game. He now turns his sights to this season, when he'll return 12 lettermen and add four new signees to boast his most talented and deepest team since becoming a head coach. Since taking over the UK program, he has compiled a 110-33 record, winning nearly 77 percent of his games, despite playing a schedule that annually rates among the nation's best.
Even more impressive, Smith has averaged 27.5 wins per season at Kentucky and owns an incredible 22-5 record in the month of March at the school. In the SEC Tournament, he's 9-1 at UK and overall, he has won a league championship five times in his 10 years as a head coach.
Kentucky is Smith's third head coaching stop. Previously, he revived two mediocre programs, Tulsa and Georgia, into NCAA title hopefuls.
In 10 years, Smith owns a 234-95 (71.1 percent) record, coaching teams to the last eight NCAA Tournaments, including six Sweet 16 appearances.
Prior to coming to Kentucky, he spent two seasons at Georgia, where he coached the Bulldogs to a 45-19 (70.3 percent) record and the first back-to-back seasons of 20 wins or more in school history. Prior to Georgia, he coached four seasons at Tulsa, guiding the Golden Hurricane to Sweet 16 appearances his last two seasons.
Smith has recorded an 18-7 mark in NCAA Tournament action which ranks third by percentage (72.0 percent) among active coaches. Smith's eight consecutive tournament appearances also ranks fifth among current coaches. In addition, he
is one of a select few who have coached three different teams to the NCAA Tournament, joining former UK coaches Eddie Sutton and Rick Pitino with that distinction.
As one of the nation's top coaches, Smith was selected to help coach the 2000 U.S. Olympic Basketball Team in Sydney. He served as an assistant to Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tom-janovich as the Americans withstood high expectations to capture the gold medal.
Smith currently serves on the NCAA Committee to study basketball issues, joining Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Oregon's Ernie Kent. He serves on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Board of Directors, USA Basketball's Men's Collegiate Competition Committee and in June 2000, spoke at a Congressional hearing on the issue of gambling in college sports.
Smith's first impact on the Bluegrass came nine years before his national championship. When Pitino took over the Wildcats' program in '89, he sought an assistant coach who knew the South, and one name continued to surface  Tubby Smith. Smith left his assistant coaching position at South Carolina and joined Pitino's first staff.
Smith began his coaching career at Great Mills High School in Great Mills. Md.. where he was head coach for four years and compiled a 46-36 record. His next stop came at Hoke County High School in Raeford, N.C., where he recorded a 28-18 mark in two seasons.
A 1973 graduate of High Point (N.C.) College. Smith was an .ill conference performei as a senior. He played under three different head coaches at High Point, including J.D. Barnelt, and earned a bachelor of science degree in health and physical education.
Smith is the sixth of 17 children raised on a rural farm in southern Maryland. He and his wife Donna, have three sons: Orlando (G.G.). 24; Saul, 22; and Brian, 17. G.G. was a four-year lellerman at Georgia and is completing his master's degree at UK while serving as a team manager for the Wildcats. Saul just completed his UK career as a four-year lettcrwinner and is scheduled to play in the NBA's Developmental League. Brian is a junior point guard at Lexington Catholic, one of the state's top prep basketball programs.
13