
Tubby Smith has coached 1,000 college games but he's not ready to quit. (Jeff Houchin Photo)
The game at Kentucky was his 1,000th game as a head college coach — he has 637 wins in 31 years. Smith recently turned 70 and after the UK game I asked him how much longer he intended to keep coaching.
“My wife won’t let me quit, man. I have been trying to. She likes this lifestyle,” Smith joked. “No, it’s getting — you know, at certain times — I go back to my pops, raised 17 kids with mom and dad.
“He said, ‘Boy, there is going to come a time you’re not going to be able to fight like you used to.’ Stamina. It’s not so much drive. Every coach loves coaching. I mean, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, all the guys, the legendary coaches planning on retiring, they would still be coaching, but you can only go so long.
“It’s like a boxer or a basketball player. There is a window of longevity. I’m having a lot of fun here at High Point. We just built a new arena, facility, so I’m excited about that. I’d hoped we had won some of those close games and have a better record right now, but it’s a process.
2 Responses
I’m soon to be 84 yrs old & started to listen to the Kentucky BB games at 8 yrs old in Northern Ohio.I believe this could end up being one of Cal’s better teams he has had since being at Kentucky. Lot of interesting parts & this team to me looks like they are very coachable & a pleasure to watch.
Thanks for sharing that John. Love your optimism and I think you are right about these guys