THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512220216
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
It wasn't happenstance that additional tables had to be set at the December meeting of the Portsmouth Sports Club.
The largest turnout in recent memory for a monthly club meeting was at the Holiday Inn-Portside to hear the one-liners of Virginia Commonwealth University basketball coach Sonny Smith.
Smith wasn't there to talk about his VCU team, a winner in five of its first nine games. No discussion of recruiting or Xs and Os.
He was ready to poke fun at his favorite patsy - himself.
``I was born in Roan Mountain, Tenn.,'' Smith said. ``It's not the end of the world but you can see it from there.
``I was six years old before I realized my name wasn't `Git Wood.'
``One of the most important things I have learned is that you must make sure you do the scheduling if you want to be a winning coach.
``I coached at Auburn for 11 years. I coached Charles Barkley. I guess you might compare that to having a root canal.
``But football is king at Auburn. Pat Dye was the football coach back then and they gave him a $600,000 home. They gave me a mobile home and said not to take the wheels off.
``The very first game I coached at Auburn was against Kentucky. At Kentucky. I knew I was in trouble when the referees came out wearing Kentucky letter sweaters.
``We were 10 points down in the first few minutes, then 20, then 30. I decided that wasn't the place for me to be so I was going to get the officials to throw me out. I started riding them. But one came over and said I might as well quit that. No matter what I did they weren't go to eject me. I was going to sit there and suffer right along with them.
``Actually I started off as a football coach. I was the head football coach at Low Gap, N.C. We only had 16 players on the team and just one of them was actually a football player.
``This guy was my quarterback and my kicker. And he stepped in a hole on the very first play. So I had to put a hairy-legged guard back at quarterback. I told him we were going to keep things very simple and try not to make any mistakes. I wanted him to run three plays right up the middle and then punt.
``Well, we had the ball on our 20-yard line. He ran the first play and lost five yards. He ran the second play and lost five more. So we're on our 10. Then on the third play he breaks up the middle and runs all the way down to their 2-yard line.
``I look up and there he is, punting the ball out of the stadium.
``When he came over to the sideline, I ask him what he was thinking. He said, `I was thinking what a dumb coach we have.' ''
Actually Smith has steered VCU to three consecutive winning seasons, including a 20-10 record and an NIT berth in 1993. At Auburn he guided the Tigers to five straight NCAA Tournaments and one Southeastern Conference championship. Twice he was Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year.
And how does Smith size up his success?
``Now I am at the height of a mediocre career.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Sonny Smith
VCU basketball coach
by CNB