Posted on Sun, May. 04, 2008

UK doesn't deserve him, but Tubby is a class act

By Merlene Davis

HERALD-LEADER COLUMNIST

Joseph Rey Au

University of Minnesota men's basketball head coach, Orlando "Tubby" Smith spoke at a Tubby's Clubhouse graduation ceremony at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Ky. Thursday May 1, 2008 Photo by Joseph Rey Au

When I was younger, I often wished I could be like Samantha Stephens, the witch who married a mortal in the TV series Bewitched.

Samantha could do all sorts of damage simply by twitching her nose. Usually a nosy neighbor or someone who was trying to hurt her family got the brunt of her magic.

Fortunately, I never received those powers, and there are a lot of people who should be grateful they are not burdened with donkey ears or elephant feet.

Every now and then, though, situations arise that again make me long for those magical powers. Most of the time now, though, I want to give those powers to others who have been wronged and who might enjoy getting revenge, if only humorously.

One of those people is Minnesota men's basketball coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith.

When I first heard that Smith had been nominated to receive an honorary doctorate of humanities degree during the University of Kentucky's spring commencement ceremonies Sunday, I thought surely he would respectfully decline.

Respectfully because Smith has shown nothing but class to UK and to the Commonwealth of Kentucky during his 10-year tenure here as head coach. Respectfully is how he always conducts himself.

But I wanted him to decline, to thumb his nose at the disgruntled, ungrateful, negative fans who criticized him loudly during his final years at UK, and to turn his back on the university that had offered only a flimsy vote of confidence at best.

His accepting the honor would only make the university look better than it deserved.

In fact, I smiled as I envisioned Smith using magical powers to turn Rupp Arena into Freedom Hall, or waving his wand to do some similar dastardly deed. That would serve them right.

Thank goodness, again, that I don't have that power. But even if I did have it and did give it to Smith, he wouldn't use it the way I would have wished.

I caught up with the coach and his wife, Donna, Thursday evening at the spring graduation of 84 middle school students who had completed 10 weeks of training in Tubby's Clubhouse/ Dell TechKnow Program.

In the 40-hour course, students learn to take a computer apart and put it back together. They learn how to use computers, install software, and fix minor hardware problems. When they complete the program, the children keep the computers, and are given printers, as well.

It is one of the 60 community projects the Smiths spent $2.3 million to help fund here.

I had to ask them why they were still being so good to this community. And why he was accepting an honorary degree from a state university that I didn't think had been so good to him.

Donna Smith said she and Tubby don't see it the way I do. Over the years she has learned how to handle a rope that could drag her off course, she said. "I used to hang on to it, pulling on it," she said. "I've learned to let go."

She said the reason her husband had returned to Lexington and to UK is because two friends had asked. The friends are UK Director of Opera Everett McCorvey and Chester Grundy, director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, who nominated Smith for the honor.

"What many people expressed when they found out that Tubby was leaving was the impact he had had on this community," McCorvey said. "They felt he would be missed on the court and off the court as well. He was a major player in this community. The Tubby Clubhouses are just amazing.

"The charitable gifts made through the (Tubby and Donna Smith) foundation to so many different entities in the community were far beyond the call of duty," he said.

"So I guess, in a way, I thought it would be a great way to give him recognition and to say thank you," McCorvey continued. "He was such a force in the community. I think it will heal some of the disappointment in the African-American community because he left."

McCorvey said he is proud of UK for granting the degree.

"There were many points at which this nomination could have been killed and it wasn't. At every level, it was embraced. I was proud of the university for doing that."

Well, I can see why a university that has been unable to overcome the persistent perception of racial bias would want to convey a distinguished award on its first black basketball coach, but why would that coach accept it?

"The thing is, it's about respect," Tubby Smith said. "People don't have to do this.

"I came here to serve the commonwealth and the university," he continued. "I came here to do something for others. When I came, I wanted people to judge me by the content of my character. I thought I was treated pretty good."

Friends had called and warned him there might be ulterior motives behind the granting of the honor, he said. But being nominated for the honorary degree was an indication he had followed the teachings of his parents.

Smith said his mother would occasionally complain that his father was cutting hair or working without getting paid. But his father would simply say he wanted to do something for others.

Smith learned from his parents to watch his beliefs, his words and his habits because from those sources his behavior would spring, he said. "I think the nomination speaks volumes about who I am. It is acceptance from the faculty and staff, and I really want to thank them."

McCorvey and Grundy nominated Smith because he is bigger than basketball, larger than his coaching skills, McCorvey said.

"We are regarding him not just as an icon in one area. He has taken his talents and shared them with the entire city of Lexington."

McCorvey applauded Smith for being generous with his resources, both in time and money.

"Wouldn't it be good to see this model cropping up in other coaches across the country? They could be a force in their communities like Tubby was in his.

"He was somebody everybody could be proud of and it didn't matter the race," McCorvey said. "They could speak to more than just his accomplishments on the court."

That was evident Thursday evening as children, their family and friends, applauded loudly when P.G. Peeples, CEO and president of the Urban League, turned to Smith and said, "Welcome back home."

Being inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame on Wednesday and receiving the honorary degree Sunday shows Smith is more than one-dimensional.

McCorvey said the degree is an "extraordinary accomplishment for any citizen."

"Smith is a major force in basketball as well as with the world of academics," McCorvey said. "It shows how well-rounded he is and how important that is to him, that he could do both."

And it also shows the rest of us just what class is all about.