Wednesday Headlines: Tubby Smith Edition

The former Kentucky Basketball coach will finally have his jersey placed in the rafters

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Oct 20, 2021, 6:40am EDT

It’s been a long time coming, but it was officially announced yesterday that Kentucky will be placing former coach Tubby Smith’s jersey in the rafters at Rupp Arena when Tubby’s High Point team comes to Lexington on New Year’s Eve.

University of Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart made the announcement yesterday.

BREAKING NEWS

Tubby Smith's jersey is officially heading to the rafters of Rupp Arena@UKMitchBarnhart made the announcement on @BBNTonight ⬇ pic.twitter.com/0wwpzpbSrw
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) October 19, 2021

Tubby was an assistant at Kentucky under Rick Pitino before taking over the program in 1997 as the head coach. He went on to win the 1998 national title, along with five SEC regular-season championships, 5 SEC Tournament championships, six Sweet 16 appearances and four Elite 8 appearances.

In his ten seasons at Kentucky, Smith led UK to an overall record of 263–83, for a winning percentage of .760. He was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.

It’s not too much of a shocker that Tubby is being added to the rafters. He was the coach of a national championship team and when Kentucky was finally able to make it work to have High Point come to Rupp Arena in Tubby’s first game back in Lexington since leaving in 2007, it seems like a no-brainer.

I’m really glad to see him finally be recognized at UK for his accomplishments and his time as coach of the Wildcats.

Tweet of the Day

WATCH: The emotional moment Tubby Smith learns his name and jersey will be hung for the world to see inside Rupp Arena

All the feels, #BBN pic.twitter.com/a6poWvgvmm
— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) October 20, 2021