Coach Tubby Smith: ‘We’re Contenders, Not Pretenders’: As one of three Black coaches to win an NCAA national basketball championship, the University of Minnesota’s Tubby Smith is certainly high-profile. He’s already a legend. The exuberant Smith is just the fifth coach in NCAA history to pull off the rare feat of leading four teams (Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota) to the NCAA Tournament.
Everyone remembers 1998 when Smith won the national title with a Kentucky team that did not have an All-American or future NBA lottery pick on the roster. Entering his 20th season, Smith ranks among the college game’s elites with 467 wins (20th among active coaches), which translates to a scintillating .702 winning percentage.
