University of Minnesota head men's basketball coach, Tubby Smith, was the keynote presenter in the 2008 Don Meyer Coaching Academy, held June 20 on the campus of Northern State University.  Jerry Krause of Gonzaga University also returned to address the coaches in attendance.

2008 marks the 18th year of Don Meyer's Coaching Academy, which has brought in over 25,000 coaches from junior highs, high schools and colleges from across the country.  The 2 1/2 day clinic started yesterday (Thursday) and runs through tomorrow (Saturday).  The clinic is divided into 11 sessions, covering a wide range of basketball and coaching topics.

Tubby Smith brings expertise from 17 seasons as an NCAA head coach, including 11 years at Kentucky and the University of Minnesota.  He brought the Wildcats to a 1998 National championship, four “Elite Eight” appearances, five Southeastern Conference titles, five SEC Tournament titles and six “Sweet Sixteen” finishes while racking up a 263-83 record.  Smith turned the Golden Gophers around from a 9-22 finish in 2006-07 to a 20-14 record last season, in his first year at the U of M.  

In his return appearance to the Don Meyer Coaching Academy in 2008, Smith addressed offensive and defensive techniques utilized at the University of Minnesota.  He also discussed coaching philosophy.

With over 1,200 collegiate wins shared between Smith and Northern State head coach Don Meyer, the 2008 Academy offered insight from some of the top basketball minds in the business.  Meyer is the second winningest basketball coach in collegiate history, with an overall win mark of 891 through 36 years of work.  He trails only Bobby Knight on the all-time wins list.  

Meyer has spent nine seasons with the Wolves at NSU.  He has a record of 189-79 at Northern and a career record of 891-299.  Meyer's squads have won four regular season or NSIC Tournament titles and have reached the NCAA Tournament four times.  The 2007-08 campaign was the second best season finish in Northern State history, as the Wolves went 29-4 overall and advanced to the North Central Region championship game.  All four season losses came at the hands of eventual National Champion and NSIC foe, Winona State.

Release is courtesy of Northern State University Sports Information Department