TU Legend Bobby “Bingo” Smith’s Jersey to be Retired Saturday at Halftime of Tulsa-SMU Game

TULSA, Okla. –– One of the most decorated players in the history of The University of Tulsa basketball program, Bobby "Bingo" Smith (1965-69), will have his Golden Hurricane jersey "No. 32" retired this Saturday at halftime ceremonies of the Tulsa-SMU basketball game.

The game time has been moved up from 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

In addition, TU basketball legends will be honored with a special recognition for the 20^th anniversary of the 1999-2000 NCAA "Elite Eight" Team.

Smith is the seventh Tulsa basketball student-athlete to have his jersey retired. He joins #12 Willie Biles, #20 Steve Harris, #21 Shea Seals, #24 Jim King, #25 Paul Pressey and #30 Bob Patterson.

"Bobby was a great outside shooter. Over the years, I've been asked who's the greatest player that I've ever coached. My response is that I can't tell you because they all did different things, but I can say this – "the greatest athlete that I've ever been associated with was Bobby 'Bingo' Smith," said Ken Hayes, who recruited and coached Smith at Tulsa.

As a senior, Smith averaged a team-leading and Missouri Valley Conference high 24.5 points, while adding 10.3 rebounds per game. He earned second-team Associated Press and Converse Yearbook All-America honors his senior season of 1968-69. Smith was also recognized with first-team all-league honors and was named the MVC Player of the Year that season.

Smith averaged 17.3 points and 14.5 rebounds on the freshman team during the 1965-66 season. He scored at a 15.0 clip and pulled down 10.4 rebounds in his first season on the varsity squad, while averaging 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds his junior campaign.

Smith completed his collegiate career with 1,368 points for a 17.8 scoring average and had a career .472 field goal percentage. In 77 career games, Smith also totaled 729 rebounds for a 9.5 average per game.

Smith went on to an 11-year career in the NBA. He was the sixth pick in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft by the San Diego Rockets, and a year later he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1970 Expansion Draft. Smith played in 865 games, logged 22,407 minutes and scored 10,882 career points, had 3,630 total rebounds and 1,734 assists.

Smith was inducted into The University of Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984. He is also a member of the 2016 class of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. His number 7 was retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers on December 4, 1979.

A native of Memphis, Tenn., Smith was an outstanding prep athlete at Melrose High School, where he earned first-team All-America honors in basketball and was a third-team All-American in football.

TU Legend Bobby “Bingo” Smith’s Jersey to be Retired Saturday at Halftime of Tulsa-SMU Game

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