Saturday's jersey retirement ceremony included (from left) WKU AD Todd Stewart, Greg Smith, Sheila Smith Anderson, Tony Smith and WKU President Timothy Caboni.
Next month is the 60th anniversary of Princeton Dotson’s 1963 2nd Region basketball championship.
May will mark 56 years since Dwight Smith and his sister Kay were tragically killed in automobile accident.
But Saturday shows that no matter how much time passes, the Smith family is still remembered, especially in Princeton and Bowling Green.
Dwight Smith’s No. 35 jersey was retired by Western Kentucky University at halftime of the Hilltoppers’ Conference USA matchup with Texas El-Paso.
The event drew many former WKU greats back to The Hill, along with a large contingent from Princeton.
A pregame reception drew numerous former teammates, including Clem Haskins, who was overcome with emotion when talking about his former backcourt mate.
Haskins and the Smith brothers, Dwight and Greg, made the Hilltoppers a formidable opponent for all college teams in the 1960s.
All are WKU Athletic Hall of Famers.
In the fall of 1963, Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the basketball program at Western Kentucky. (Saturday’s ceremonies were filmed for a future documentary about the integration of WKU athletics.)
Haskins was the more-heralded recruit out of Taylor County and was later the third pick overall of the 1967 NBA Draft, being chosen by the Chicago Bulls.
But Haskins called Dwight Smith, “the best player in the history of the program,” and noted that the Princeton native was the “heart and soul of the best team we’ve ever had.
“I competed against Dwight every day in practice for four years. Every. Day,” Haskins remembered. “And I never beat him. Not once.
“When I would guard Dwight in practice, he beat me every time,” said Haskins. “And he would tell me what he was going to do before he did it. And then did exactly what he said.”
Other former Toppers in attendance included Wayne Chapman and Joe Mac Hill, who were teammates of Smith.
Hill was head coach at Caldwell County from 1969-73 and favorably recalled his time spent in Princeton.
With a large crowd at Diddle Arena on its feet, the banner honoring Dwight Smith was unveiled at halftime with his brothers Greg and Tony, and sister Sheila Smith Anderson, on the court.
It was even announced over the PA that a group of 60 had made the trip from Princeton on a special fan bus — plus many others with Caldwell County ties were in the crowd as well.
Dwight Smith inspired the Hilltoppers one more time. Down by four at halftime, WKU roared back after the halftime ceremony to claim a 74-69 victory over UTEP.
Head coach Rick Stansbury discussed the significance after the contest.
“We had that (reception) before the game,” Stansbury said. “We had the opportunity to meet all of his family and a whole bunch of coaches and players that were on that team… the Clems, the Chapmans, all those guys, and his brother and sister.
“To be able to come out here today, we wore shirts (with his number) before the game, to honor him. To come out here and find a way to win a game with toughness — evidently that’s who he was, that’s what everybody says he was about, toughness — that was pretty special.
“We just had his family back in the locker room again, and his sister spoke to the team and took some pictures. So it was special.”
