By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Charles Smith has a long history of flying under the radar during his 34 seasons as head basketball coach at Peabody High School, but the latest case takes the cake.

The modest but incredibly accomplished Smith reveled in Saturday’s Peabody “Hall of Fame” game on campus featuring a recognition and gathering of all of the state championship teams at Peabody – eight that he coached. But nobody announced Smith had just become a finalist for the sport’s most elite club – the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

He didn’t bring it up, either.

The Basketball Hall is the epitome of accomplishment in the basketball world – it includes international greats as well as the most renowned figures in the sports’ history. From the Hall’s namesake, Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball in Springfield, through more than a century of history, figures such as Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Bob Pettit, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Kim Mulkey, Cheryl Miller, Nancy Leiberman and the greats of the game are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Now, as of a Friday evening announcement during the NBA’s All-Star Game Weekend, Peabody’s Smith is one step away from joining them.

Smith is one of six North American finalists – selected from a pool of 37 nominees – on the Basketball Hall’s radar. He was nominated last year for the first time and Friday emerged from a rigorous review process in his first year of consideration.

The final step: gaining endorsement from a 24-member Honors Committee comprised of experts from the world of basketball. To earn selection for the Hall, at least 18 must approve a finalist.

Smith and 13 others have advanced to this stage. He is the only high school coach being considered. The Class of 2024 will be announced and introduced April 6 during the NCAA’s Final Four festivities in Phoenix.

The other North American finalists are NBA greats Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Michael Cooper and Walter Davis, and longtime Wisconsin Badgers college coach Bo Ryan.

Two Women’s Committee finalists include another Louisiana native, Baton Rouge’s Seimone Augustus, who starred at LSU, was a three-time gold medalist for the USA, and is one of the all-time greats in the WNBA. She is going into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in April and will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches on June 22.

Contributor finalists are Doug Collins, Herb Simon and Jerry West – who is already in the Basketball Hall as a player but now is considered for his front office role with the Los Angeles Lakers.  Two others – notably former NBA star Dick Barnett – are being considered as veteran finalists along with international finalist Michelle Timms.

“Being named a finalist for the Class of 2024 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is a testament to the highest echelons of achievement in the sport,” said Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “It’s an honor that reflects not only individual greatness, but also the long-lasting impact on the game itself.

“Each finalist embodies the pinnacle of basketball excellence. Their inclusion underscores the diverse contributions that have shaped and enriched the sport, making this recognition truly exceptional.”

The Class of 2024 will be enshrined in Springfield on Aug. 16-17.

Only eight Louisiana natives – Leon Barmore, Joe Dumars, Elvin Hayes, Malone, Mulkey, Robert Parish, Pettit and Willis Reed – are in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Smith, 74, is steering the 2023-24 Peabody team into the state playoffs as the fifth-winningest coach in American high school history. His teams have won 1,204 games and lost only 214. His eight state championships include seven this century, the last in 2020.

Three of the four coaches ahead of him on the national career wins list are already in the Basketball Hall. The one who isn’t has coached six more years than Smith has.

Born in rural Rapides Parish, he became the Warhorses’ head coach in 1985. He started as a math teacher and assistant coach to Ernest Bowman at Peabody in 1975 and continues to teach trigonometry classes.

Smith was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Year after a perfect 41-0 state championship season in 2010. He was a head coach at the 2020 McDonald’s High School All-American game in 2020.