Thomas E Gemkow
Sports Editor
The Patriot Press

The man has won 539 games as a head coach, and lost only 270. The man has coached on a professional level, as well as the NCAA Division 1 level, and NJCAA level, and been successful at every stop along the way. The man has never finished a season with a winning percentage lower then .500. The man is Gene Smithson…err…maybe it would be better to say Gene Smithson is the man.

For the past fifteen years, Smithson, winning, and basketball at CFCC have been synonymous.

A trend which unfortunately has come to an end.

On March 4, 2003, Smithson, announced his retirement as the head men’s basketball coach at CFCC, an announcement that doesn’t come as a surprise to many.

“I knew this day would come,” said an emotional Smithson at his press conference. “I’ve been in this thing as a coach for 42 years. I had a long playing career and I’ve been extremely blessed in both having success as a player and a coach. I’ve been at this a long, long time. It’s not easy to leave something that has become such a big part of you.”

And for a man like Smithson, basketball has been a big part of his life since early childhood.

“This is where I kind of grew up right here,” said Smithson, pointing to a painting of a child in jeans and a long sleeve shirt going up to dunk on a basket with a wooden backboard and peach basket as a net. “When I was about in second grade, my dad put me up a basket just like that. That is where I began my basketball. It paved my way through college, and provided me with a living for a lot of years.”

But the road to college wasn’t an easy one for Smithson.

“Many years ago, we were a very poor family, we didn’t have any money,” said Smithson of his childhood. “I had one pair of shoes with holes in them, I had one pair of pants and a shirt that were called school clothes, and I didn’t want to live that way. So I started what successful people did, and what made them successful. They do what others can’t and won’t do.”

The success in life started for Smithson in high school. As a player in high school, Smithson was inducted to the Illinois High School Basketball Hall of Fame before going on to play at North Central College in Illinois. At North Central, Smithson still holds many records as a player. Smithson ranks seventh all time in career points scored with 1,298, third in career free throw attempts with 499, and seventh in points scored in a season with 516 in the 1960-61 campaign.

“It’s quite a transition from high school to college,” said Smithson of his jump from the high school to college ranks.  ”And that is why a lot of players don’t make it. I had a very successful collegiate career, and a very successful high school career. The transition from high school to college basketball…or any athletics is very time consuming. You have to balance school work and everything else with athletics that is the reason that athletes that can accept that challenge and successfully indulge in all those activities and balance that usually have very good success in life.”

The success Smithson experienced on the court in high school seemed to follow him on his trek as a coach in the NCAA.

Smithson started his coaching career at Illinois State University in 1975. In three years at the helm of the Redbirds basketball program, Smithson was 66-18, leading the team to a birth in the N.I.T tournament in both the 1976-77, and 1977-78 seasons.

Smithson left Illinois State to take a job at Wichita State University-another Division 1 school-and in eight seasons with the Shockers, Smithson guided the team to a 155-85 record, twice leading his team to births in the NCAA tournament, including the 1980-81 campaign in which his team made it to the Elite Eight before losing to LSU. Smithson left the school as the most successful coach in university history.

“I had extremely good programs,” said Smithson. “I’ve been extremely blessed-with good jobs, good people to work for and work with, I’ve been blessed with good players-my ambition has always been to succeed, but one cant succeed alone, you have to have a lot of things that have to come in unison with one another, and I’ve been blessed that way. I was able in my career that I’ve ever been associated with to the national level.”

Smithson had a brief stint as a coach at the professional level, coaching the Guaynabo Puerto Rican team, compiling a 30-13 record before moving on to coach at CFCC.

“It was both rewarding, and great for experience,” said Smithson of his days in Puerto Rico. “But at the same time it was not as gratifying to me as being a collegiate coach. You have more control over things as a high school or a college coach then as you do in the pro. Even though I had a good experience, I was anxious to get back to the college ranks.”

While at Wichita State, the Shockers basketball program was put on probation due to illegal money contributions from boosters, and while Smithson did nothing illegal, the trouble filtered its way clear to the top. Smithson was exonerated and put on a list of un-hirable candidates by the NCAA for the next seven years.

“Even though I got exonerated, that hurt my NCAA career,” said Smithson.

Which meant Smithson, despite a .691 winning percentage at the NCAA Division 1 level, and 23 former players in the NBA, would have to find another avenue to pursue his college coaching career…that other avenue turned out to be CFCC.

“I’ve enjoyed it very, very much at CFCC,” said Smithson who has enjoyed much success as a coach at CFCC. “Once my sanctions were lifted by the NCAA, I got a lot of coaching job offers, but none were appealing enough. And we also fell in love with Ocala, and we like CFCC. I was tired of traveling.”

Smithson, who was hired by the school at the start of the 1988-89 seasons, compiled an impressive 288-158 record while at the helm of the Patriots, and led the Patriots to a state title in the 1995-96 seasons, in which the team also placed eighth in the nation.

In the 1988-89, and 1992-93 seasons, Smithson coached the Patriots to Mid-Florida Conference Tournament championships.

Under Smithson’s steady tutelage, 51 basketball players from CFCC have received scholarships to move on and play at the NCAA level at four-year institutions.

With Smithson retired as unquestionably the best coach ever to lead a team into competition at CFCC, the question is where does CFCC go from here?

“We’re going to get a long list and eventually a short list of applicants together and see if we can get someone who meets our needs,” said CFCC athletic director Bob Zelinski said. “Singing date is April 15, so I am looking at finishing this search process in the next three to four weeks. Recruiting is the name of the game.”

So, what about Smithson?

Smithson said he will stay on as a faculty instructor and will continue to make contributions to the program as a community liaison for the athletic program.

“Scholarships are so important to our program, not just men’s basketball but all our athletic programs,” Smithson said. “This community has been sensitive to our needs, and I look forward to getting our message out.”

The man is retiring. The man will still be involved in some facets with CFCC basketball, which should lead to more success for CFCC basketball. The man is Gene Smithson…excuse me, Gene Smithson is the man.