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OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 16, 2012) - Charlie Smith saved one of his best games in an Oklahoma Christian College basketball uniform for last.

On Feb. 19, 1970, in the final OCC home game played in The Barn on the northwest corner of the campus, Smith had one of those games players dream about, making his final 11 shots and scoring 33 points as the Eagles closed down the venerable facility with a 103-66 romp over John Brown (Ark.).

Smith never had the opportunity to play in the NAIA national tournament, as his brother David did in 1968, but he's equaled his brother in one respect - joining him as a member of the Oklahoma Christian University Athletic Hall of Fame. Charlie Smith will be inducted into the Hall during a ceremony on Friday.

"It wasn't the nicest place in the world, but I've got so many great memories of The Barn," Smith said. "My memories are very positive of Oklahoma Christian. We were one big family and it was a good atmosphere for basketball."

Smith was one of a number of students from Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) - then a junior college - who transferred in the late 1960s to what then was known as OCC. Some of them were the college's biggest basketball stars, such as David Smith and Ancil Johnson. The first Freed-Hardeman transfers enjoyed their Oklahoma Christian experience, and so told their friends to come to Oklahoma. Charlie Smith was in the second wave of basketball transfers.

When Charlie Smith arrived at OCC, the Eagles were coming off the school's greatest season ever to that point. In 1968, they upset No. 1-ranked Northeastern State twice in a three-game series to qualify for the NAIA tournament for the first time in school history. Smith was one of the players called upon to help the Eagles try and replicate that success during the 1968-69 season, said Frank Davis, Oklahoma Christian's basketball coach at the time.

They almost made it back to the national tournament, but Central State (now Central Oklahoma) used a last-second basket to edge the Eagles 60-58 in the district playoffs, ending their season at 20-8. The next season, the Eagles weren't quite as deep and finished 16-8, although Smith received NAIA All-America honorable mention honors, quite a feat during an era when the NAIA had more than 500 members.

Smith averaged 20.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per game as a senior. Current Oklahoma County Commissioner Ray Vaughn - who stands 6-foot-5 - was recruited from the Eagles' tennis team to play on the basketball team that season, just so the 6-foot-7 Smith would have someone to match up against in practice.

"He was just like David (Smith), a monster inside," Vaughn said of Charlie Smith. "He played the forward position. What I remember is he had a fadeaway, just like (current Dallas Mavericks star Dirk) Nowitzki, except he'd jump off of his left leg. He'd jump and his right foot would kick me in the chest! He could hit that shot from anywhere."

If Smith got the ball on the baseline, Vaughn said, "he'd take you to the hole or do that fadeaway. He was a scoring machine. It was a lot of fun being on the same team with him."

Davis recalled a game in which the Eagles played at mighty Texas-El Paso - which wasn't too many years removed from winning the NCAA Division I championship. UTEP had senior Nate "Tiny" Archibald, who would go on to become an NBA legend. OCC countered with Smith. The Eagles hung close until the final minutes, when UTEP pulled away for a 61-45 win.

"Charlie had a great game," Davis said. "We were ahead with two minutes to go and had the ball. It may be one of the best performances of a team I've coached. He was a man among other men and he just dominated that game. It wasn't so much his points as his blocked shots, rebounds and aggressive nature, rallying the defense around him and leading the team."

Smith tended to play his best in big games, Davis said, including one during his senior season in The Barn. With a few minutes still left to play in an 89-77 win over Cameron, Smith had 41 points, one shy of the school record - which, ironically, then was held by Davis. The coach was sure Smith was going to break his record, but Smith tried to take a charge and instead was called for a blocking foul and fouled out.

"My senior year, we beat (Oklahoma Baptist, 72-71), that was a big win for us," Smith said. "And John Brown was a pretty big rivalry for us. It was appropriate that we closed down The Barn against John Brown."

After graduation, Smith spent eight years coaching high school and junior-high basketball in Oklahoma before returning to Freed-Hardeman in 1978. During the next 25 years, he served as FHU's athletic director (from 1980 to 2003) and coached (at various times) that university's men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball, men's basketball and baseball teams.

In 1997, Smith was named as an NAIA regional male administrator of the year and he received NAIA district coach of the year honors in women's tennis nine times between 1987 and 1995. The playing surface at Freed-Hardeman's basketball arena is named Smith-Kirk Court, in honor of Smith and his predecessor as athletic director, Hoyt Kirk, and FHU inducted Smith into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
Smith now works as a consultant for MTM Recognition - the company started by his brother, David - and is the commissioner of the TranSouth Athletic Conference, an NAIA league.

He said he's looking forward to returning to Oklahoma Christian for the induction ceremony.

"It's very special," Smith said of the honor. "I had a great career out there. It's an honor for them to select me. My time there was a special time for me. I enjoyed my days in Oklahoma."

Story by Murray Evans, Oklahoma Christian Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations