Guffrie Gibson Smith (born January 14, 1977) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach, currently the head coach at

High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...

. He was previously the head coach at

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

Early life and college playing career

A native of

Leonardtown, Maryland Leonardtown is a town in and the county seat of St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,563 at the 2020 census. Leonardtown is perhaps most famous for the national oyster-shucking championship that is held annually at the ...

, Smith is the oldest son of college basketball coach

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univers ...

. G.G. attended

Cascia Hall Preparatory School Cascia Hall Preparatory School is an Augustinian Roman Catholic coeducational College-preparatory day school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association. It is one of Tulsa's two Catholic high schools, wit ...

while his father coached at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

. After graduating from Cascia Hall in 1995, Smith attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and played basketball for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

under Tubby Smith, who had been hired to coach at Georgia the same year. A

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

, Smith joined the starting lineup as a sophomore and averaged 9.5 points and 2.4 rebounds. He later played his junior and senior seasons under

Ron Jirsa Ronald Howard Jirsa (born December 21, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at UNC Greensboro. He was previously the head coach at Georgia and Marshall. Early life and education Jirsa was born in New ...

. As a senior, Smith averaged 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. Smith graduated from Georgia in December 1999 with a degree in health and physical education.

Coaching career

Smith began his coaching career as an assistant coach and teacher at

Lexington Catholic High School Lexington Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in the Rosemill neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington. In 2007, it was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Histor ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. In the fall of 2000, Smith enrolled at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

for graduate school and joined his father's staff as a graduate assistant. Completing his master's degree in sports management in 2002, Smith became an assistant coach at

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

. From 2004 to 2006, Smith was an assistant at Armstrong Atlantic State, then at

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

for the 2006–07 season. After six seasons as an assistant under

Jimmy Patsos James John Patsos (born October 1, 1966) is an American college basketball coach. Patsos earned his B.A. from The Catholic University of America, Catholic University in 1989. There, he played basketball under Jack Bruen, who later coached Colgate ...

, Smith succeeded Patsos as head coach at

in 2013 after Patsos took the head coaching job at

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. On March 8, 2018, Smith announced that he was resigning from Loyola after 5 seasons. He was subsequently hired by his father

as an assistant at High Point. On February 16, 2022, the elder Smith stepped down as coach, making G.G. his replacement.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, G. G. 1977 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Maryland Basketball players from Maryland College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Georgia Bulldogs basketball players High Point Panthers men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's basketball coaches Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball coaches People from St. Mary's County, Maryland Point guards Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches University of Kentucky alumni