Coach of the year
Steve Smith
Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va.
Stattitude: Coached team to schoolrecord 44-0 season and No. 1 spot in USA TODAY Super 25 rankings. Has a career record of 862-53 and has sent 21 players to the NBA.
Family: Wife, Lisa, works in the principal’s office at Oak Hill; daughter Stephanie, 29; son Sean, 28. Age: 56. Best coaching job: I would say this year. The players were really receptive to our coaching. They responded to everything we asked them to do. There were a few games where we made adjustments, which ended up helping. It was probably the easiest bunch to coach.
Basketball background: Played basketball for his father, who was basketball coach and dean at Asbury College, an NAIA school in Wilmore, Ky. Also played golf and soccer at Asbury.
Favorite musician: Bruce Hornsby (whose son Keith played at Oak Hill). I loved his music long before Keith played for us.
Favorite teacher: My fifth-grade teacher, Miss Davenport. I’m not going to say my dad, because he was a really hard teacher.
I’d like to meet: John Wooden. I met him once, briefly. If I could sit down with somebody and have a conversation, it would be John Wooden. The time I did meet him, I was really nervous. He stood for all the right things. Through his books, I get devotional wisdom from him.