WKU Athletics to Retire Jersey in Honor of Hilltopper Basketball Great Dwight Smith
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Athletics will retire a jersey of Hilltopper basketball great Dwight Smith with a ceremony at halftime of the Hilltoppers’ home contest against UTEP, set for a 3 p.m. tipoff, on Saturday, February 4. He will be just the 11th person in program history to join this prestigious club.
“Dwight Smith is one of WKU basketball’s all-time impactful players and an important component of the rich history of excellence and tradition of our program,” said Director of Athletics Todd Stewart. “He played a vital role on a pair of conference champion and NCAA Tournament teams, and along with Clem Haskins helped integrate WKU basketball. His jersey certainly deserves the prominence of being placed in the rafters of E.A. Diddle Arena, and we are excited to honor him alongside his family on February 4!”
Smith, a 6-4 guard from Princeton, Ky., starred on three of the greatest teams in the long and illustrious history of the sport on The Hill. Those clubs won 66 of 81 games (81.5%), including a sparkling 31-3 record (91.2%) in games played in E.A. Diddle Arena, and posted a 37-5 mark (88.1%) in Ohio Valley Conference competition, winning two league and conference tournament titles and making three straight post-season tourney appearances – two (1966 & ’67) in the NCAA Championships and one (1965) in the NIT.
Playing in a period when college freshmen were not eligible for varsity competition, Smith earned All-OVC honors three times, falling just three rebounds shy of averaging a “double-double” each season. Still, he remains one of just nine Toppers on record to average a “double-double” for his career – 14.6 points per game and 11.0 rebounds a contest. The others on that elite list Jim McDaniels (1969-71), Ralph Crosthwaite (1955, ’57-59), Tom Marshall (1951-54), Smith’s teammate Clem Haskins (1965-67), Art Spoelstra (1952-54), Charlie Osborne (1958-60), Chris Marcus (2000-02) and Bob Daniels (1954-57).
Smith was the top rebounding guard in the nation in both his sophomore (11.3 rpg) and senior (11.9 rpg) seasons. He was regarded as one of the best defensive guards in the nation at that time, due in part to his top-notch prowess on the defensive glass. Only 13 Hilltoppers on record reached the elite 1,000-point threshold in fewer games – he topped 1,000 in his 70th game. And, he was only the 8th Topper to reach 1,000 points at the time he completed his career on The Hill.
The Las Angeles Lakers’ 4th pick in the 3rd round of the 1967 NBA draft, Smith died in an automobile accident on May 14, 1967.
Through the years, honors have continued to come Smith’s way. He is a member for the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (Class of 1995), the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (2016), the OVC 40th Anniversary Team (1988); and, he was selected as a member of the WKU Basketball All-Century Team in 2018.
