It was Billy Powell’s junior year at Broad Ripple High School, and he, Kevin Johnson and other members of the Rockets basketball team were playing Manual High School, the then-ranked number two team in the state.
At halftime, as Powell and Johnson crossed paths with the referees, Powell commented that if it wasn’t for the referees’ dislike for his coach, Bill Smith, the foul call would’ve been different.
As the second half started, the referee came over to the Rockets’ bench and gave the duo a technical foul.
At the time neither Powell nor Johnson, who later became a trainer for the Philadephia 76ers, knew why they received the technical foul. The Rockets then lost by 20 points.
After the game, Coach Smith called his two terrified players over. He praised them both for their love, dedication, and passion for the program, and wished it could translate to the whole team.
He concluded by telling them that if the team would have lost by two, he would have been furious.
“He was stern, honest and a straight shooter,” said Powell, a 1986 graduate of Broad Ripple High School.
Beloved coach Smith, 72, passed away Nov. 30 at his Cordova, Tenn. home following several minor surgeries.
“If there was something he didn’t like, he told you about it and once again, you’re learning from him. If he told someone they stink at basketball, he didn’t make them run and hide. He encouraged them to do what they were good at,” recalled Powell. “Just the way Coach walked. His walk told you he demanded respect because he earned it. You wanted him to be proud of what you were doing.”
Smith, longtime basketball coach at Broad Ripple, is perhaps best known for his 1980 state championship victory.
He began his coaching career in 1972 when he was promoted from assistant to head coach. Over his years on the court, he trained five Indiana all-stars including George Hill, Indiana Pacers player; and Mike Woodson, assistant coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. In 1986 Smith decided to enter politics as a Center Township Trustee but then returned to Broad Ripple for nine more seasons.
Powell remembers the day he received the heartbreaking news Coach Smith passed away.
“I had just talked to him a week earlier so it was kind of a punch in the gut,” commented Powell. “I got a phone call two days after his death and it was his phone number calling me, but of course it was his wife to let me know how Coach felt about me and if I wanted to be a part of the memorial. In a perfect world if I could do a redo, I would love for him to have been my father.”
Jerry Cox, a 1975 graduate, player for Smith’s first varsity team and later assistant coach, also remembers nothing but great things about his mentor.
“He was my coach and also my history teacher but as adults he became my best friend. When I heard the news, my first reaction was shock,” said Cox who remembers getting the call from his close friend Mike Woodson. “We cried together. It was the most hurt I’ve had in a while.”
Cox’s father passed away in September and he also lost his brother two weeks ago.
“This is my third major loss and Coach Smith was the one who comforted me. He came to my dad’s funeral despite he just had surgery,” recalls Cox.
“He made boys into men. When he brought me back as his assistant coach three years after I graduated, that was one of the biggest honors. I didn’t feel worthy to be called a coach but from day one he acknowledged me as ‘coach’ until I got the confidence.”
“Number one he was my teacher and next he was my coach. He taught me that Black and white were colors, not what you judge people by,” noted Powell, who is white. “He also reinstated that respect is not something given, it is earned and that you should walk with your head held high.”
Powell believes that not only did Smith teach his players the game of basketball, he taught them the game of life. He served as a father figure to many of his players.
“I loved him like a father and at times I wish he was. Nobody else has touched my life like Coach Smith,” said Powell.
