University Press of Kentucky to publish memoir of Tubby Smith, celebrating his life and career

The University Press of Kentucky has announced it will publish a new memoir by sports legend Orlando Henry “Tubby” Smith. From growing up in Scotland, Maryland, as the sixth of 17 children, to the highs and lows of an incredible 31-year career as an NCAA basketball head coach — and the first Black head coach at the University of Kentucky — the forthcoming book will delve into Smith’s incredible life on and off the court.

“I am grateful, honored, and excited to be partnering with the wonderful folks at Kentucky Press to write my first book,” said Smith.

Smith, who was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013, was head coach at Kentucky for 10 seasons, from 1998–2007. He coached Kentucky to the 1998 national championship — the third Black coach to win the national championship — and five SEC regular-season crowns and five SEC Tournament titles. He is one of two head coaches to guide five different programs to the NCAA Division I Tournament (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas Tech). Smith represented the Kentucky Wildcats as a member of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Legends class at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Tubby Smith had an incredible career in college basketball and his accomplishments speak for themselves,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK director of athletics. “Beyond his basketball achievements, a memoir of Tubby’s unique journey will bring insight to a man who has been a winner, on and off the court.”

Smith was head coach of High Point University men’s basketball team from 2018–2022 and inducted into the High Point University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. He was named National Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2005, 2016) and Conference Coach of the Year six times (1994, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2016) and was honored with the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award in 2016. In 2000, Smith was an assistant coach on Rudy Tomjanovich’s staff that led the United States to Olympic gold. He has also mentored student-athletes who have gone on to play in the NBA, including 13 NBA draft picks. In 27 seasons at six schools, Smith has amassed a combined record of 597-302 (.664).

The forthcoming memoir will be written with Terence Moore, a sports journalist who spent 25 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , and author of The Real Hank Aaron: An Intimate Look at the Life and Legend of the Home Run King and Red Brick Magic: Sean McVay, John Harbaugh and Miami University’s Cradle of Coaches .

“What a memoir. That’s what I thought to myself when Tubby approached me at the 2023 Final Four in Houston about doing his autobiography,” said Moore. “The more we talked over the subsequent months, the more I discovered his story is beyond anything I possibly could have imagined. It’s an incredible account of the life and times of history’s most underrated college basketball coach of greatness.”

Smith’s memoir will be released in 2025 as part of the University Press of Kentucky’s Race and Sports series. Edited by University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences faculty Gerald L. Smith and Derrick E. White, this series publishes works that expand the boundaries of sports history and opens a new analysis of American sport and culture.

Smith’s forthcoming memoir will join other compelling basketball biographies published by the Press, including They Call Me Goose: My Life in Kentucky Basketball and Beyond by Jack Givens with Doug Brunk (March 2024) and The Reggie Warford Story: Integrating Basketball at the University of Kentucky by Scott Brown (October 2024).

“As a lifelong Big Blue fan, the thought of working with Tubby used to be just a fantasy,” said Ashley Runyon, director of the University Press of Kentucky. “I have such special memories of going to the celebration after the Cats won in 1998. It’s a dream come true!”

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