Charles Smith (basketball coach)

Charles Smith
Smith in 2024
Peabody Warhorses
PositionHead coach
Personal information
Born (1949-05-15) May 15, 1949
near Alexandria, Louisiana, U.S.
Career information
High schoolAlfred Wettermark High School
(Boyce, Louisiana)
CollegePaul Quinn
Coaching career1971–present
Career history
As a coach:
1971–1973J. S. Slocum HS (assistant)
1975–1985Peabody Magnet HS (assistant)
1985–presentPeabody Magnet HS
Basketball Hall of Fame

Charles Smith (born May 15, 1949) is an American high school basketball coach. He has served as the head coach of Peabody Magnet High School since 1985. Smith was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Early life

Smith was born on May 15, 1949, near Alexandria, Louisiana.[1] He was the oldest of seven children born to a veteran of the United States Army and a school teacher.[1] He played baseball growing up, having become interested in the sport after watching Negro league games at a young age.[1] He attended Alfred Wettermark High School in Boyce, where he competed in multiple sports.[2] He graduated from Wettermark in 1967 and then attended Paul Quinn College in Texas on a baseball scholarship.[1][2] He was the first member of his family to attend and graduate college, receiving a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1971.[1][2] He played baseball at Paul Quinn and claimed to have been drafted by the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), but did not play baseball professionally.[1]

Coaching career

After graduating from college, Smith returned to Louisiana and became a math teacher and assistant basketball coach at J. S. Slocum High School.[1][3] After two years there, he left to become a teacher at Pineville High School, but did not coach basketball there.[1] In 1975, he joined Peabody Magnet High School as a teacher and assistant to head basketball coach Earnest Bowman.[1] As an assistant coach, he helped Peabody win the state championship in 1979, their first, with the team featuring future NBA player Paul Thompson.[1][2] In 1985, he succeeded Bowman as head coach at Peabody.[4]

Although his team did poorly in his first two years – going 8–18 his first year and then 13–16 the next – his "brand of disciplined and defense-driven basketball" soon began to have success.[2] He led Peabody to a 28–7 record in 1987–88 which resulted in his first state tournament appearance and district title, and Peabody finished as state runner-up in 1990, then won the state title in 1991.[1][2] His teams then showed dominance throughout the ensuing years; as of 2019, Smith's teams had won at least 22 games every year from 1988.[5] He won his 500th game in 2003 and his 1,000th in 2018, while he broke the all-time Louisiana wins record with 1,072 in 2020.[6][7][8]

Smith, by 2019, had won the district title 28 times, including a streak of 19 consecutive titles that ended in 2014.[5] By that point, he had led Peabody to the Top 28 18 times, while having never lost in the first round of the state playoffs.[5] He has won nine state championships as a head coach – 1991, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024 – and compiled undefeated 41–0 records in 2004 and 2010, with him being named the ESPN National Coach of the Year in the latter season while both of those teams placed highly in the national rankings.[3][4][9][10] He is a five-time recipient of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Coach of the Year award, and in 2020, he served as a head coach at the McDonald's All-American Game.[5][11]

By 2024, Smith had compiled a record of 1,204–214, being fourth all-time in high school basketball history for wins.[3][4] He has coached over 60 players that received college scholarships, and over 70 that played college basketball, including his son, Kedric, and grandson, Jacoby, both of whom played at the NCAA Division I level.[6][12] As head coach, he has coached one person who has played in the NBA, Markel Brown.[12] Smith wrote a book on his life, Legendary Coach Charles Smith: In My Footsteps, and a documentary was produced about his time at Peabody, called Chasing 1,000 Wins.[6] He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.[1] In 2024, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, only the sixth high school coach ever to receive the honor.[13] He was inducted in his first year of consideration.[14]

Personal life

Smith has been married to his wife, Rosa, for over 50 years.[14] He has a daughter, Dr. Camacia Ross, and a son, Kedric, who, after playing for him at Peabody, became a coach at Buckeye High School and later became an assistant at Peabody.[15][16][17] His grandson, Jacoby Ross, played professionally in Europe.[17][18] Smith earned his master's degree from Northwestern State University in 1981.[2] He was the recipient of the school's "Nth Degree" in 2025, for "individuals who have gone the extra mile in meritorious service to the university or the community."[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gafford, LaMar (June 8, 2019). "Smith did things his way, all the way to HOF". The Times. p. B4. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Partsch III, Raymond A. (January 18, 2012). "Enduring warhorse". The Town Talk. p. B1, B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Ireland, Doug (February 19, 2024). "Peabody's Charles Smith may soon join basketball's greatest names". Rapides Parish Journal. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Charles Smith". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Charles Smith". Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Gafford, LaMar (December 7, 2018). "Peabody's Smith talks to Rotary Club of Alexandria". The Town Talk. p. C1. Archived from the original on April 19, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Hotard, Scott (December 11, 2003). "And It Goes On ..." The Town Talk. p. 9. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Gafford, LaMar (March 8, 2020). "Peabody's Smith sets Louisiana wins record". The Town Talk. p. B1. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Doyle, Michael D. (April 11, 2010). "Longtime Peabody coach's success result of unwavering focus". The Town Talk. p. 7, 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Gafford, LaMar (March 10, 2024). "Peabody boys claim 10th state title in program history with overtime victory". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  11. ^ "Peabody's Smith headlines Class 4A All-State teams". The Crowley Post-Signal. April 3, 2020. p. 5. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b Gafford, LaMar (February 25, 2022). "Peabody basketball coach Charles Smith's greatest achievement: Over 70 played in college". The Town Talk.
  13. ^ Spears, Kelvin (October 17, 2024). "Peabody Magnet High School's Head Basketball Coach, Charles Smith, returns home from Naismith Hall of Fame Induction". WNTZ-TV.
  14. ^ a b Ireland, Doug (October 14, 2024). "At the pinnacle of the basketball world, Peabody's Charles Smith dominates the spotlight". Rapides Parish Journal. Archived from the original on April 3, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  15. ^ Martinez, Martin (April 13, 2024). "Peabody basketball coach adds Naismith Hall of Fame induction to list of accolades". The Town Talk. Archived from the original on April 24, 2025. Retrieved May 12, 2025 – via archive.today.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ Nelsen, Chris (February 12, 2006). "A new home". The Town Talk. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b Gafford, LaMar (December 24, 2015). "Three generations leading Warhorses in stellar season". The Town Talk.
  18. ^ "Jacoby Ross". Proballers.com.
  19. ^ Ireland, Doug (January 8, 2025). "Northwestern president awards 'Nth Degree' to Peabody's legendary Charles Smith". Northwestern State University.
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