Goodson already knew Tubby Smith was a Hall of Famer
Published 9:22 am Wednesday, July 22, 2026
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Zo Goodson worked for Tubby Smith (center) at five schools in a 15-year period and is glad Kentucky fans seem to appreciate Smith even more now than when he was UK’s men’s basketball coach for 10 years. (VICKY GRAFF)
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Freshman point guard Maddyn Greenway is a top 25 recruit, but UK women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks doesn’t want to overload her with expectations this season. (KENTUCKY ATHLETICS)
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Baylor transfer Coleton Price wanted to be part of the offensive line, the “Big Blue Wall,” at Kentucky. (ELLIOTT HESS/Kentucky Athletics)
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Kentucky volleyball player Morgan Gaerte (right) and UK teammate Asia Thigpen signed autographs after a youth clinic at Georgetown this summer. (LARRY VAUGHT)
Zo Goodson grew up a University of Kentucky basketball fan in Tell City, Indiana, about two hours north of Lexington. He wanted to play basketball at UK, but when he realized that was not going to happen he knew the next best step for him would be as a student-manager at what he knew was the “best basketball program in the world.”
That led him to working under UK coach Tubby Smith and legendary equipment manager Bill Keightley from 2001-05 and started a lifelong friendship with Smith.
That’s why no one was prouder of Smith’s recent selection for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame than Goodson, the head men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division III Rhodes College in Memphis.
“As soon as I saw the news (about the Hall of Fame) I called him immediately. I told him it was long overdue and typical coach Smith did not want to make it about him. He said, ‘I would never be able to have done this without guys like you.’ I told him that was not true because we all needed him. He is always so humble and giving. He is the most level-headed human I have ever been around.”
Smith had a stellar 31-year coaching career at seven schools that produced 642 wins and a national championship in 1998 at Kentucky in his first year as UK’s head coach. Smith coached at UK for 10 seasons from 1998-2007, winning five SEC regular-season championships and five SEC Tournament titles. He had a 263-83 overall record at UK that included 10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and at least one NCAA win every season.
“He was seven points away from three more Final Fours and if he had done that he would have been at Kentucky more than 10 years. He knows you have to get to the Final Four at Kentucky,” Goodson said.
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“We were No. 1 overall seed and had to play Wisconsin and Marquette in Minneapolis. If that wasn’t enough, (leading scorer) Keith Bogans hurt his ankle and was maybe at 30% in the (regional) final against Marquette.”
Goodson spent six seasons at Minnesota with Smith after he left UK and then three years at Texas Tech, two years at Memphis and one season at High Point. He was a graduate assistant during Smith’s final season at Kentucky.
“My most fond memory of him at Kentucky was when he made the decision to leave. I was a GA and thought I was out of a job and my coaching career was over before it started,” Goodson said. “I still remember that he brought the staff together and told us he was leaving. He saw the look on my face and said, ‘Zo, stay back.’ He told me not to worry about anything and that he was going to take care of me.
“He cared about people more than anything else. A lot of coaches care about winning more. He cared about people first. He put me on scholarship for four years at UK and kept me on scholarship for the next 15 years.”
Goodson never expected to be a “long-time staffer” with Smith and the two developed a close, unique relationship – Smith and his wife, Donna, officiated at Goodson’s wedding – that has continued since Goodson became the head coach at Rhodes six years ago. Smith comes to several Rhodes games each season.
“I was all over the map with him and kept working my way up,” Goodson said. “I don’t think I ever dreamt we would have such a close relationship. He and I became literal best friends. I lived in their guest house at High Point. It felt like we spent every waking moment that year together. It was really a lot of fun.
“Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t get the Tubby stare. Looking back, I cherish those moments. If you got the stare you knew he cared about you.
“He expected people to be great and he pushed you. You had to show up ready to work. He would come by your office, look around and ask what have you done to make the program better today. Those are great memories. He kept you on your toes. If you didn’t, be ready to get called out. He had a high level of accountability and something I have taken with me to my program.”
While the two have not technically coached together the last six years, Smith has continued to be a “mentor” for Goodson. He has access to Rhodes’ Hudl account and watches almost every practice and game online.
“During games he will text me at halftime and after the game with all the notes he has taken. He is literally like an extra assistant coach. He still stays on me when he is breaking down film, but that just tells you the kind of person he is. He wants me to be successful and goes the extra mile to help me. He and Mrs. Smith are still very involved in my life.”
That’s why Goodson was glad that Smith’s Hall of Fame selection was so well received by Kentucky fans.
“Coach could not even understand why there was an article in the (Lexington) Herald-Leader about him going into the Hall of Fame. That’s just how he is,” Goodson said. “What is great is that his impact in the state of Kentucky is greater now than when he coached. People have learned to appreciate even more what he did and just how special he was.”
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Kentucky freshman women’s basketball players Maddyn Greenway (14), Savvy Swords (20) and Emily McDonald (21) were all top 25-ranked recruits and McDonald’s All-Americans who make up the highest-rated group of freshmen to ever sign with UK.
They have all impressed coach Kenny Brooks in a big way during summer workouts.
“They’re all three extremely competitive. They’re like perfectionists. And to be honest with you, they’re well beyond their years,” Brooks said at his summer news conference. “They come in and they can do things that I really haven’t seen freshmen be able to do.”
However, the praise also came with a note of caution.
“But they’re freshmen. What we were able to do in solidifying some players with experience, we don’t have to throw them into the fire,” the UK coach said. “We’re also in win-now mode.”
That’s why as good as the freshmen are, it was important for Brooks to find experienced help in the transfer portal and he did with Diana Collins (Alabama), Me’Arah O’Neal (Florida) and Ayanna Patterson (UConn).
Collins is an experienced SEC point guard who can take pressure off Greenway having to try to solely fill the roles Georgia Amoore and Tonie Morgan have the last two years. Collins averaged 8.4 points and 2.4 assists per game as Alabama’s starting point guard last season.
“I think this year it’s going to be more (point guard) by committee,” Brooks said. “I think that Maddyn is a tremendous point guard, still learning, going to be learning on the fly. Emily is a great passer.
“I’m looking forward to just the ability to share the basketball because if we make one more pass, it’s probably going to be for a great shot to a great shooter.”
Greenway won five straight Minnesota state basketball titles at Providence Academy. She is Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer with more than 5,600 career points and averaged 36.5 points, 9.4 assists, 7.1 rebounds and 6.1 steals per game last season. She is also the state’s all-time leading goal scorer in soccer – where she led her team to state titles – and a multiple state champion in track and field.
“The freshmen, they’re going to get their opportunity, but you don’t have to just depend on every mistake or good play that they make,” Brooks said. “I think that they’re going to find their way.
“They’re all talented. They all shoot the basketball well. They all have great experience. And I look forward to them finding their way. They will compete and they will contribute a lot for us this year.”
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Baylor transfer Coleton Price knew plenty about the “Big Blue Wall” that former UK offensive line coach John Schlarman put together before his passing in 2020.
“Big Blue Wall, it’s something to be a part of. It’s something to be upheld. That’s something I want to be a part of, for sure. That was one of the biggest reasons why I came here was to be a part of it and create something and continue the journey here on the Big Blue Wall,” the transfer center said on The Leach Report with Tom Leach.
Head coach Will Stein, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich could start five transfers on the offensive line in their first season at UK.
“A lot of guys bring different types of traits, so it’s just trying to find the camaraderie with one another and be able to play with one another and have that trust and the ability to believe in one another,” Price said. “You can’t play next to someone that you don’t trust in. You can’t play next to someone and not believe in one another. You want to be able to come together real tight and be really bonded to one another.”
Price knows how important being connected is for offensive linemen, so he sometimes has had the offensive linemen to his house.
“We’ll cook some steaks, have a really good time and enjoy each other’s company,” Price said. “It starts with someone making everyone come together as one and just be able to create a bond and a relationship with one another.
“You can see that within our entire team. Everyone knows one another, everyone knows each other’s names. Sometimes you got guys on different teams and you might not even know someone, but here it’s completely different. It’s like a family for sure.”
Price knew Stein had an “amazing offense” at Oregon that he wanted to be a part of.
“It’s a pro style offense and he sold it really well. I’m pretty happy to be here and part of his offense and family feeling,” Price said.
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Kentucky will open its volleyball season in Milwaukee against Wisconsin on Aug. 21 and Pittsburgh on Aug. 23. Pittsburgh lost to eventual national champion Texas A&M in the 2025 Final Four and Wisconsin lost in five sets to Kentucky.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner likes to challenge his team, but his players understand his thinking and love playing for him.
“When I got recruited by him, a lot of people outside of Kentucky volleyball said he was just like an awesome person and an awesome coach,” junior outside hitter Asia Thigpen said. “I really couldn’t find anything bad about him when I was going through my recruiting process, and everything has been exactly true with me being here almost three years.
“He has a big family and he’s made us feel like his own kids, honestly.”
Notre Dame transfer Morgan Gaerte, a junior outside hitter, knew she wanted to move from the left side to the right and wanted a program that would “value” her making that move.
“I was looking at programs and talking to the coaches. Each and every one of them (at Kentucky) are so invested in this program,” Gaerte said. “Obviously they have had great success every single year. Then I just got here and all the girls in the program are just amazing.”
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Quote of the Week: “What wonderful news for a man who has been such an inspiration to so many in the sport of basketball and the class act we all should be. Congratulations Tubby. We’re still waiting for you and Donna to move back home here in Lexington where you should be,” former Cats’ Pause publisher Oscar Combs, on former UK men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith being selected for the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Quote of the Week 2: “With him, you can’t block him. He is so big and athletic and has such a high motor. He just changes the game in high school on one side of the field,” Corbin football coach Luke Salmons on defensive lineman Malachi Brown, a UK commit.
Quote of the Week 3: “I spent a long period of my life in this building – a lot of hours, mornings, nights, middle of the day, summers, winters, tornado warnings, the whole deal in here. This was home for a long time and it’s still home. Thankfully, coach (Mark) Pope allows us to come back,” La Familia coach Jon Hood, on being back at the Joe Craft Center where he played for John Calipari.
