Tubby Smith will serve as assistant coach as U.S. attempts to win gold.
(Aug.24, 2000) — Excited, thrilled, happy…these are the adjectives University of Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith used to describe his upcoming experience as an assistant coach for the U.S. basketball team.
“I’m very excited,” said Smith, who assisted last summer when the U.S. qualified for the Olympics by winning the Tournament of the Americas in Puerto Rico. “I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to work with so many outstanding players as we try to win the gold medal in Sydney. Just to be part of it and be involved is quite an honor.”
Smith left Lexington on Thursday morning, flying to San Diego then on to Hawaii on Friday. Training camp opens in Maui on Saturday and the U.S. will play its first exhibition game on Thursday, Aug. 31, against Canada in Honolulu.
Smith will serve on staff with Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanavich, Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown and Purdue head man Gene Keady. Together, they’ll lead a squad highlighted by NBA All-Stars Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Allan Houston and Jason Kidd, among others.
But the opportunity comes at a price. With classes at UK beginning last Wednesday, the 2000 Wildcats begin strength and conditioning exercises along with on-court individual instruction. Smith will return from the Olympics in early October and practice gets underway for the season on Oct. 14.
“We have five new freshmen coming aboard and they are going to need a lot of guidance and support,” Smith said. “But I am comfortable and very confident that our staff, including our new additions, will fill the void that I leave behind.”
Last week, Smith hired former Alabama coach David Hobbs as the Cats’ third assistant. He will oversee UK’s preseason training program while George Felton and Mike Sutton hit the road in September making in-home visits with potential recruits.
“Obviously, Coach Sutton has been doing the individual workouts the past three seasons, but Coach Hobbs has a lot of experience in all facets of coaching basketball and Mike will still be around enough to provide assistance,” Smith said.
Smith, who will begin his fourth season with the Wildcats when they open in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York City, Nov. 9-10, hopes the Olympic experience pays dividends in recruiting.
“I look at the exposure both the University of Kentucky will garner as well as our basketball program,” Smith said. “Hopefully, everyone will benefit.”
The U.S. Olympic team will travel to Tokyo on Labor Day and play two exhibition games against Spain and Japan before traveling to Melbourne, Australia to complete its exhibition schedule. The Olympic Games’ Opening Ceremony is Sept. 15 and the U.S. will play its opening round game on Sept. 17 against China. The medal round concludes Oct. 1.
