Kentucky’s game against High Point was about more than the final score. The Wildcats brought back former head coach Tubby Smith, now the head coach at High Point, on New Year’s Eve to retire his jersey and put his name into the Rupp Arena rafters.
It was an emotional evening for Coach Smith and a group of his former teammates in attendance, who were greeted by a nearly packed house in Lexington 20 minutes prior to tipoff. Smith coached at Kentucky from 1997-2007, winning the 1998 NCAA National Championship while compiling an overall of record of 263-83.