Smith has been hired as the men’s basketball coach by High Point University — where he played from 1969-73 — the school announced on Tuesday. He will take over a program that went 14-16 in 2017-18 and finished seventh in the Big South Conference.
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“It is a great honor and privilege to return to my alma mater as the next head basketball coach at High Point University,” Smith said in a statement. “My wife, Donna, and I have been very impressed with the transformation the University has taken under the leadership of (president) Dr. Nido Qubein and look forward to coming back to a place so near and dear to our hearts.”
Smith will become the Panthers’ 12th men’s basketball coach after serving in the same position at Memphis that saw him go 40-26 from 2016-18. He replaces Scott Cherry, who went 146-134 in nine seasons but did lead High Point to at least a share of four consecutive Big South regular season championships from 2013-16.
Smith, Sporting News’ coach of the year in 2016, will be tasked with leading High Point to its first Division I NCAA Tournament appearance (the program made it to the Division II tournament in 1996 and ‘97). He has coached a team to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances in 27 years as a head coach, including five Sweet Sixteen trips, three Elite Eight trips, one Final Four and one national title (with Kentucky in 1997-98).
