It’s the House that Coach Smith Built and as of today it will bear his name for the rest of eternity.
After winning back-to-back state championships en route to becoming Washington High School’s all-time winningest coach Dave Smith’s name has always been synonymous with Washington basketball. Today, the two will be officially linked together as the school has decided to name its gymnasium after the man who has delivered so many great moments in it.
The ceremony will take place in between the girls and boys basketball game during the Pam Pack’s battle with Riverside, which is expected to start at 6:30 p.m.
“I consider it an honor,” Smith said. “But it’s not all about Dave Smith, it’s about the young men that I have been able to coach during the years. They’re the ones who have taken the charges, made the field goals and played defense.”
Somebody had to show those players how to do those things and nobody did it better than Smith. With that in mind, Washington athletic director and girls basketball coach Allison Jones said that naming the gym after Smith was the perfect play call.
“Coach Smith is well-deserving of this honor.  He was such a successful teacher and coach during his career here,” Jones said.  “He was a part of 30-plus years of WHS basketball history as well as being one of the top five all-time winningest coaches in North Carolina boys basketball history. He left his mark on WHS, and we are proud to dedicate the gym to Coach Smith.”
With future NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins highlighting a team that would feature four future Div. I starters, the Pam Pack was a powerhouse during the 1970s as Smith won back-to-back state championships in the 1978 and ’79 seasons. During that time, Washington pieced together a 56-game winning streak that was the longest in the nation.
The Pam Pack was state runners up in the 1975 and ’76 seasons, losing both title games by two points each. Overall, Smith compiled an eye-popping 306-161 career record at Washington and won six regular season and conference tournament championships.
Smith, who was inducted into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame in 2004, was at one point tabbed the Beaufort County Coach of the Decade along with being named the 1979 North Carolina Coach of the Year.
Smith has had several fantastic moments during his time stalking the sidelines, however, the former Pam Pack coach’s favorite moment took place far away from the hardwood and beyond the eyes of adoring fans.
“It happened right after the 1978 state championship game,” Smith said. “We were in our hotel room, it was about 11 o’clock at night and we here a knock on our door. (JV coach) Larry Sykes went to the door and we saw two men and a woman. One was a college official who called ACC games and the other was a high school official and his wife.
“They wanted to talk to me. They told me, ‘We’re sorry for interrupting you at this time of night but we wanted to tell you that we saw in your young men something that we rarely see: they were well mannered and expressed themselves well and their conduct was impeachable.’
“It made me feel so good to know that our youngsters acted that way and that it made somebody come to our hotel room at night just to tell me about the way they presented themselves.
“I would say that, that to me is my best moment because they not only represented themselves the right way but the city of Washington and the high school.”
Aside from great conduct, Smith’s teams played great basketball and Jones, a Washington graduate, said that watching games during the Smith era is something she will never forget.
“I remember my dad taking me to watch the teams of the late 70’s at the old WHS gym. The gym was packed wall-to-wall and end-to-end. I was such an electric atmosphere,” Jones said.  “His teams were always at the top of the conference.
“I have a great deal of respect for him and I think we are the lucky ones to have his name on this gym. He is the standard we all aspire to.”
Jones said that the lessons she has learned from Smith are timeless and as the girls basketball coach she does her best to emulate the Pam Pack legend.
“Coach Smith brought something special to Washington and created tradition here.  I teach the lessons I learned from my college and high school coaches and from what I saw from Coach Smith back when I played at WHS,” Jones said. “He set the standard by coming to work every day with purpose and expecting his players and students to do the same. That’s as relevant today as it was 25 years ago. Coach Smith dedicated himself to this profession and Washington.  I’m thankful he did.  He deserves this recognition.”