Last week when Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) coach Steve Smith, 66, announced that after 37 seasons patrolling the sidelines for the Warriors he’d indeed retire, he was flooded with the customary congrats via social media.
“A lot of people reached out,” Smith said. “I was very appreciative of the love.”
The show of respect and admiration was to be expected for a coach with nine national titles, 34 McDonald’s All Americans and 36 players who went on to play in the NBA.
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Currently, Smith’s 1,226 wins is the third-most in boys high school basketball history behind Dunbar's (Fort Worth, Texas) Robert Hughes (1,333 wins) and DeMatha's (Hyattsville, Md.) Morgan Wootten (1,274).
That resume also prompted most of the tweets, posts and texts to be accompanied by the GOAT hashtag or emoji, a label that’s hovered over Smith for more than a decade.
Still, as one could expect from an accomplished coach nearing the end of his final season, Smith downplayed the notion that he’s the best ever.
“It means a lot coming from my players for sure,” Smith said. “That really means something to me to have coached a player and for him to think that highly of me. As far as the media and other people saying it, I don’t really get into that.”
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For now, Smith’s focus is solely on national title No. 10, as GEICO Nationals looms in late March.
The Warriors (24-7), ranked No. 11 in the SB Live/Sports Illustrated Power 25, have just seven games left in the regular season before potentially earning a bid to GEICO Nationals.
Oak Hill last won the national title in 2016.
“I think we’re as good as any team in the country,” Smith said. “We play in the NIBC against the best competition in the country every game, and we’ve won our last 13 games. I think if we’re fortunate enough to earn a bid to GEICO we’ll have a good shot. Going out with another national title would be something! Let’s see what happens.”
