SAN ANTONIO – Louise Smith needed everyone inside the Alamodome to know who her two sons were.
After Madison head coach Gerald Smith won his first state championship as a head coach Friday morning, he shared a teary-eyed embrace with his older brother, Kimball head coach Nicke Smith, with their mother, Louise, behind them. She proudly exclaimed to everyone who could hear her on the court, “That’s my son!”
Five hours later, Gerald was back behind the Kimball bench, gold medal around his neck, watching his older brother Nicke win the program’s 10th state championship – his third as a head coach.
“I was more nervous at [Gerald’s] game than this because I wanted him to win so bad,” Nicke Smith said.
High School Sports
Related
After Madison won its state semifinal game against Brownfield on Tuesday, Louise tried to book a flight to San Antonio from Shreveport, La., where she lives, with no success. Gerald’s wife, Shannon, was coming to the game from New Orleans and offered to personally drive her.
Even six hours away in another state, she couldn’t miss the chance to see both of her sons coach in state championship games and make history.
“I’m just so happy to be here,” Louise Smith said. “Nicke’s so happy that I’m here. Gerald’s happy. I told Gerald, if you would have lost, you would have told me, ‘Mom, you should’ve stayed home.’”
The last time siblings coached two different teams playing for state championships in boys basketball was, coincidentally, also for Kimball and Madison high schools. In 2014, Rod and Royce ‘Snoop’ Johnson guided their teams to the finals, with Royce leading Kimball to a state title in 4A. Rod’s Madison team also won that year in Class 3A but later vacated the title to Houston Yates.
“My mom came and just seeing her over there helped me,” Nicke Smith said. “That meant everything to me, more than any championship, just having her there. Shoutout, Mom, Louise, I love you.”
Repeating the feat at the same schools meant a lot to Smith, who accepted the Madison job in 2024 knowing the pressures that came with it. The Johnsons are highly regarded as one of the first families of basketball in Dallas, and now he and his brother are in the same category.
“There’s a lot of love in the room today,” Gerald Smith said. “That was a very, very special moment as a coach to have my mother here.
“You only get one mother and you only get one father and when they’re gone, they’re gone, so I embrace that.”
Louise couldn’t remember the last time she saw Gerald coach, but Gerald believes it was sometime in 2010. Earlier this season, Kimball played Peabody High School in Alexandria, La., less than two hours away from Shreveport, so both of the Smith parents could make it out to see Nicke’s team play.
Before Madison’s game against Orangefield, Louise had to do her studying, and in doing so, gave Gerald some Biblical words of encouragement.
“I go online and see what kind of record the team has that he’s getting ready to play for the playoffs,” Louise said. “All of them had won over 30 games, so I told Gerald, ‘You are going to be just like David and Goliath. You’re gonna slay the dragon,’ and he did it.”
Flying high! Dallas Madison soars to its sixth state title in boys basketball
View Gallery
Carter finally summits the mountain, claims first state title with win over La Marque
The victory for Carter completes a three-game sweep for Dallas ISD after Madison and Kimball won titles earlier in the day.
Kimball rolls past Fort Bend Crawford, captures second consecutive 4A-I state championship
The Dallas ISD school won its third state title since 2023 and ninth in program history, one behind the UIL state record.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.