Who is tubby smith

The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. The former all-conference guard of High Point College came back to his alma mater after serving as the head coach at Memphis for two seasons. Smith has been named National Coach of the Year three times , , , conference coach of the year six times , , , , , and was honored with the John R.

Wooden Legends of Coaching Award in Smith has made 20 postseason appearances as a head coach, including nine Sweet Sixteen and four Elite Eight trips. Highlighted among that group was Tech's first sellout since against Oklahoma State on February 8, Smith is one of seven active head coaches to secure over wins and a national championship.

He also is one of nine coaches in college basketball history to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament. In October , Smith was announced as the 18th recipient of the John R. Wooden "Legends of Coaching" award which recognizes coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden's high standards of coaching success and personal integrity. The recipients are selected based on character, success on the court, graduation rates of student-athletes in their basketball program, coaching philosophy and identification with the goals of the Wooden Award.

He accumulated a record and five plus win seasons after he inherited a program that had won nine games the season before his arrival. Smith guided the Gophers to three consecutive plus win seasons for the first time in program history during his opening three seasons at Minnesota.

The Gophers registered a record and a NIT bid in Minnesota's win improvement was the largest season turnaround in school history and tied for the second-best Division I turnaround during that season. The Gophers raced out to a non-conference record and the fifth-best start in program history during Smith's second season in After nine conference wins and an opening round victory in the Big 10 Tournament, Minnesota was awarded a No.

Smith continued Minnesota's success during the season as the Gophers collected back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time since and Minnesota punched its ticket to the Big 10 Tournament Championship Game for the first time in program history after wins over No. The Gophers tallied 23 wins and a NIT runner-up finish in He averaged over 26 victories per season as UK's third-longest tenured coach.

Smith became the first coach since Cincinnati's Ed Jucker in to win a national title during his first season. The point halftime comeback is the largest deficit overcame in an NCAA title game.

Kentucky racked up a mark during Smith's inaugural season, the first of two plus win campaigns for Smith with the Wildcats. The squad won 25 of its last 27 games sparked by 13 straight wins to close out the season and are one of only two teams in NCAA history joining City College of New York to win the national championship without having an Associated Press All-American or future Associated Press All-American on its roster.

The team closed out the regular season with four-straight wins, before sweeping through the Southeastern Conference SEC Tournament, winning each game by double figures. In the regional semifinal, the team topped 19th-ranked and sixth-seeded UCLA , before beating third-ranked and top-seeded Duke. Kentucky knocked off New Mexico State in the opening round, before needing overtime to top sixth-seeded Kansas in the second round.

A third-consecutive NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance came a year later with wins over Valparaiso and Tulsa in the first two rounds during a season. The team suffered just four losses throughout the entire season and had a record. A record in and a record in gave the Gophers basketball program its first string of three-consecutive, win seasons in program history. In all six of his seasons with Minnesota, Smith's teams finished above.

Nine of the players that he sent to the NBA heard their names called on draft day, as Rondo, Magloire, Mohammed, Padgett, and Prince were each first-round draft picks. Team USA posted a perfect record. He is married to his wife Donna, and has three sons and a daughter: G. Smith is a graduate of High Point N. College, and was an all-conference performer as a senior, finishing his career as the seventh all-time leading scorer in program history.