To be a part of elite success as a team is to be a genuine mentor, that "real" friend or coach.

First in a two-part story by Erik Woods

Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith has had 1,000 wins in his legendary career. He has had many McDonald's All Americans that have played for him and many of his former players have gone onto the NBA.

But he treats each and every kid that plays for him.....like "fam."

I had the superb honor to meet Coach Smith and I asked him what makes "The Hill" so special to him, "The kids that come here get to be close friends. They work extremely hard but we do it together, we play together and build relationships that last. It's our fraternity for each other that we'll remember for years to come."

Coach Smith has the tremendous support of his wife, Lisa, who has been with him every step of the way. Oak Hill’s success is the manifestation of her care for the kids as much as it's the pounding of a ball on the court.

As Coach Smith relates, "Lisa, she gets to know the guys better than I do, she stays after them, cares for them, keeps our academic expectations high. The kids achieve so much after leaving here because of her. Getting a college education is paramount and she’s such a big part of all we do."

Wow, and I've known great guys like Marcus Williams and Brandon Jennings who always have love for what "The Hill" put into them.

Coach Smith says former great players like Carmelo Anthony often ask how the current players at Oak Hill are doing. Some love to get together to say "I was the best at this, no, I was the best at that." It's all in fun of course, but Oak Hill is a place they come back to and share memories.

It's that fraternity that Coach Smith treasures, along with seeing kids raise their game as a result of their sweat, love, and symbiotic determination between player and coach. That's real, that's "The Hill."

Recently, I talked at length to class of ‘87 Oak Hill alum Sean Green who went on to play with the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Utah Jazz. He told me what makes coach Smith great, "It was such an honor to have Coach Smith consider me as one of the pioneers of The Hill. Rod Strickland was the one that opened our eyes to that school. For a while they had quite a few NYC transplants at Oak Hill. Rod in '85, Chris Brooks in '86 and myself in '87.

“It was grass roots. We actually didn't have a wood floor to play on, it was tiles. Crazy! I'm just honored to have my name hanging up on that wall with so many other great hoopers. Coach Smith was a great motivator and a 'no nonsense' coach. He really took our game to the next level."

Recently, I was at the Nike Extravaganza when Oak Hill played Chino Hills and I shook Coach Smith's hand and wished him luck. His mind worked like a next gen Intel processor during the game. And the way his players and his assistants responded to him, it was obvious to me that he's the epitome of the phrase, "He gets much respect."

In Part 2 (for subscribers), read more about Coach Smith’s influence as a builder of young men and how he affected former Dominguez star, Keion Kindred.