Adrian Howard "Odie" Smith (born October 5, 1936) is an American former professional basketball player.

Early life

Smith was the fifth of six children of Oury and Ruth Smith of Farmington, Kentucky. The family lived in a farmhouse that had no electricity and no indoor plumbing. He was nicknamed "Odie" after a comedian on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. As a child, he attended a three-room schoolhouse in rural

Graves County, Kentucky Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin F ...

. Because the family didn't have money for a basketball, he learned to shoot one his mother made from rolling up his dad's socks. He attended Farmington High School, where he nearly didn't play high school basketball until the school's principal and basketball coach agreed to give him a ride home, a distance of seven miles, after practices. As a senior, his only scholarship offer was from nearby

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

, but he took too long to accept and the offer was withdrawn.

College career

Smith enrolled to play basketball at Northeast Mississippi Junior College (now known as Northeast Mississippi Community College). After Smith excelled on the court, Northeast coach Bonner Arnold convinced legendary

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

to send a scout to see Smith, and UK offered a scholarship. Smith didn't see much action his junior season until Kentucky's star guard, Vernon Hatton, went out with an appendectomy, and for seven games, Smith averaged 16.3 points. As a senior, Smith was a starter and averaged 12.4 points per game. The Wildcats' team, known as the "Fiddlin' Five", beat Seattle University 84–72 to win the 1957–58 national championship, led by 30 points from Hatton and 24 from Johnny Cox. Smith averaged just under 14 points in UK's four NCAA tourney wins, including seven in the championship game. Smith graduated from Kentucky with a business degree.

After college

He was selected in the 1958 NBA draft, but not until the 15th round (85th overall) by the Cincinnati Royals.

USAF All-Stars (1959–1960)

Instead of attempting to make the Royals, Smith joined the U.S. Army, where he played on the Army's all-star team and in 1960 was selected to play on the eventual undefeated U.S. men's basketball team that won the gold medal in the

1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to: *The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States *The 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 19 ...

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The team went 8–0 in the Olympics, led by future hall-of-famers

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...

, and

Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

, although in the opening win against host

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Smith was the team's leading scorer, with 17 points scored. The team's average margin of victory in the eight games was 42.4 points per game.

Akron Goodyear Wingfoots (1961)

Smith played for the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots in 1961.

Professional career

Cincinnati Royals (1961–1969)

Smith began his professional career in the 1961–62 NBA season. During his first three seasons, he served as a backup guard behind

and Bucky Bockhorn, averaging about 20 minutes per game with scoring averages of 7.2, 8.9, and 9.4, respectively. In his fourth season of 1964–65, he became a starter in the Royals' backcourt alongside Robertson. Playing over 34 minutes per game, he averaged 15.1 points per game, with a .456 field goal percentage and .830 free throw percentage. The 1965–66 season was both his most productive and noteworthy. He averaged a career-high 18.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game as the Royals went 45–35 and, in the Eastern Division semifinals, extended the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

to a fifth and deciding game before falling to the eventual NBA champions. On December 15 he scored a career-high 34 points against the Celtics, and followed that up on January 5 with another career-high of 35 points. During the season, Smith was selected to the 1966 NBA All-Star Game and, surprisingly for a game that including sixteen future Hall-of-Famers, Smith was named MVP after he scored 24 points in 26 minutes. It was his only All-Star appearance, and for winning the MVP award, he received a new

Ford Galaxie The Ford Galaxie is a car that was marketed by Ford in North America from the 1959 to 1974 model years. Deriving its nameplate from a marketing tie-in with the excitement surrounding the Space Race, the Galaxie was offered as a sedan within the ...

car. In his sixth NBA season, 1966–67, Smith averaged 16.6 points per game and led the NBA with a .903 free throw percentage and, for the fourth time, the durable Smith led the league in games played. In 1967–68, Smith averaged 15.6 points per game in his last year as a starter. In 1968–69, playing primarily as a backup to Robertson and Tom Van Arsdale, Smith averaged 9.6 ponts per game.

San Francisco Warriors (1969–1971)

In the 1969–70 season, after 32 games with the Royals, Smith was traded to the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, for whom he played another 45 games, averaging 5.9 points per game for the season. In 1970–71, his 10th NBA season, he played only 21 games, averaging 5.3 points per game in his final NBA season.

Virginia Squires (1971–1972)

Smith played for the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

in 1971–72, averaging 5.1 points per game. He also played 13 times for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Honors

The entire 1960 USA Olympic basketball team, including Smith, was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

on August 13, 2010. Smith is also a member of the Northeast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame and the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame.

Post-playing career

Smith worked for many years as a commercial relationship manager for Cincinnati-based

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

, where he currently is a vice president. He resides in Cincinnati with his wife, Paula, and he still owns the Ford Galaxie he won from the 1966 NBA All-Star Game.

NBA/ABA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* @ databasebasketball.com
One-on-One with Adrian SmithThe Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of FameNortheast Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame1960 United States Olympic Team page at The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Book, Cincinnati's Basketball Royalty by Gerry Schultz {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Adrian 1936 births Living people Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American bankers American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Kentucky Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Northeast Mississippi Tigers basketball players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics NBA All-Stars Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in basketball People from Graves County, Kentucky Shooting guards San Francisco Warriors players United States men's national basketball team players Virginia Squires players