Orlando (Tubby) Smith was born on June 30, 1951 in Scotland, Maryland. He was the sixth of 17 children. He got his nickname when he was young, because he liked to stay in the tub where he, and his brothers and sisters were bathed.
Smith enrolled at High Point University and graduated in 1973. He played under three different coaches at High Point and was an all-conference performer as a senior.
Smith began his coaching career coaching at Great Mills High School in Great Mills, Maryland. He amassed a 46-36 record there. He then went to Hoke County High School in Raeford North Carolina where he got a 28-18 record in two seasons.
His first head coaching job would come at the University of Kentucky, becoming the 20th head coach on May 12, 1997. He coached the Cats to their seventh National Title in 1998, including a come from behind win over Duke in the Elite Eight. He also achieved a perfect 16-0 SEC Conference record in 2003, five SEC regular season championships, and five SEC Tournament titles.
As the years went on, fans thought his recruiting was getting really bad, and they decided it was time for him to go. On March 22, 2007 he resigned as UK head coach and went on to coach at Minnesota.
Smith led the Cats to an overall record of 263–83 record for a winning percentage of .760. In his 10 seasons with Kentucky, he averaged over 26 wins per season.
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