By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Former Kentucky men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith will be honored for his contributions to college basketball this fall.
Smith will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2026, which also features Jay Wright (Villanova), Ted Owens (Kansas), Danny Ainge (BYU), Glen Rice (Michigan) and the late Walt Hazzard (UCLA). The class will be formally inducted during the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Celebration on Oct. 26 in Kansas City.
“The Class of 2026 represents the very best of college basketball – individuals whose performance, leadership and impact helped shape the game at the highest level,” said Kevin Henderson, CEO of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. “Their legacies will forever be preserved as part of the sport’s rich history.”
Smith served as an assistant coach on Rick Pitino’s staff at Kentucky from 1989-91, before taking over as head coach at Tulsa, and then Georgia. When Pitino left for the Boston Celtics at the end of the 1997 season, Smith took over at Kentucky and led the Wildcats to their second NCAA title in three years. Smith spent 10 seasons at Kentucky and compiled a 263-83 record. He then coached at Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis and High Point before retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season.
“I think everyone knows the relationship I have with Tubby and how I respect him like I respected coach (Joe B. ) Hall,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said in 2022. “… Think of the career coach Smith has had — at Tulsa, Georgia, UK, Minnesota, Texas Tech, Memphis and High Point, he did it with class. Never sold his soul and always stayed true to who he was as a coach and as a person. That’s the greatest compliment that can be paid to anyone.”
That’s the way Smith wanted it to be, and he never compromised his true convictions as a person, on or off the court, during his successful career in the collegiate ranks.
“We feel when you do your job, and to the best of your ability, people respect that,” Smith said during a ceremony four years ago at Rupp Arena. “I think Kentucky, obviously, the folks here and the fans here, we are not just on the basketball court, but serving this community, the state, giving back as much as we could through our foundation, and I think that’s a testament to the values that we try to instill in our players and in our family.”