Anderson Township resident Adrian Smith has died at age 89.
If you don’t recognize the name, Greater Cincinnati basketball aficionados knew him as “Odie,” a talented 6-foot-1 guard from Farmington, Kentucky who won a national championship with the Kentucky Wildcats, an Olympic gold medal in Rome in 1960 and was named the 1966 NBA All-Star Game MVP, which came complete with a Ford Galaxie as a prize. Smith kept the vehicle in great condition over the years and kept it proudly on display.
Adrian Smith’s time with Kentucky Wildcats
Though he originally only had a scholarship offer at Murray State, which was withdrawn, Smith started at Northeast Mississippi Junior College. He excelled enough there to warrant a look from the legendary Adolph Rupp and Kentucky’s “Big Blue.”
Smith finally got some playing time in relief his junior year, then became a starter as a senior, averaging 12.4 points per game. His team became known as “The Fiddlin’ Five,” and the Wildcats went on to win the 1957-58 NCAA National Championship with an 84-72 win over Seattle University. Seattle featured a future NBA Hall of Famer named Elgin Baylor. Another member of the “Fiddlin’ Five” that you may not be aware of was the father of NBC football analyst and former Cincinnati Bengal Cris Collinsworth. Lincoln Collinsworth was a 6-foot-3 guard.
The team was called “The Fiddlin’ Five,” as Rupp said they were known for “fiddlin’ around and fiddlin’ around” before pulling out a game.
Gold medal for Adrian Smith in 1960
Smith was drafted in the 15th-round by the Cincinnati Royals in 1958. (The Royals originated in Rochester, New York, moved to Cincinnati, moved to Kansas City-Omaha, and are now the Sacramento Kings.)
He elected to join the Army, played on the Army All-Star Team and made the 1960 team that won gold in the Rome Olympics. That team also featured two other future Cincinnati Royals in Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. The 1960 Olympic team was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Adrian Smith played for Cincinnati Royals from 1961-1969
Smith served as “The Big O” Oscar Robertson’s back-up originally, but became a starter in 1964-65, averaging 15.1 points per game and shooting 46% from the field and 83% on free throws. There was no 3-point shot, but many have commented how Smith would have been a long-distance threat.
In 1966, the NBA All-Star Game came to Cincinnati Gardens, and Smith scored 24 points in 26 minutes to lead the East to victory and win the coveted Ford Galaxie. It would be his only All-Star Game.
Smith would play for the San Francisco Warriors, then the ABA Virginia Squires, before his pro career was up in 1972.
Adrian Smith funeral arrangements
Smith’s visitation is at 11 a.m. at T.P. White in Mount Washington, with the funeral service at noon. For more information, go to www.tpwhite.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Adrian Smith of Cincinnati Royals, Kentucky Wildcats fame dies at 89
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
