Adrian Smith

Former NBA All-Star Adrian ‘Odie’ Smith, who won an NCAA championship at Kentucky and an Olympic gold medal for Team USA basketball, has died. He was 89.

Smith died April 28, according to a news release from University of Kentucky athletics. No cause of death was shared.

“Odie holds a special place in the history, and the treasured heritage, of Kentucky basketball,” UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said in the release. “His accomplishments on the court – the NCAA championship at UK, two gold medals representing the United States in international competition, and his 11-year pro career – speak for themselves.”

Smith, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, played two seasons at Kentucky from 1956-58 after he transferred from Northeast Mississippi Junior College. He was a member of the Wildcats’ “Fiddlin’ Five” that won the 1958 NCAA championship.

After Kentucky, Smith was drafted by the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals but instead opted to serve in the U.S. Army.

While in military service, Smith was selected to play for Team USA at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago and helped lead the U.S. to win the gold medal. Smith was also selected to the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, where he played with NBA legends Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and more as the U.S. won gold. Smith and the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team were inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Smith joined the Royals for the 1961-62 season and averaged 14.2 points per game in his rookie NBA season. He played 10 seasons in the NBA for the Royals and San Francisco Warriors, and played his final season in the ABA for the Virginia Squires in 1971-72. Smith earned an All-Star selection with the Royals in the 1965-66 season, when he averaged 17.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, and was also named the All-Star Game MVP.

Smith is survived by his son, Tyler, and his brother, Kenny.

“What I remember most about Odie is that he had such a positive presence,” Barnart said. “He was a bright light wherever he went, always smiling, always cheerful, and most of all, so incredibly proud that he had played for the Wildcats. Our condolences are with his family, his friends and the Wildcat basketball family that meant so much to him.”