David “Smokey” Gaines was a basketball player with the Harlem Globetrotters before going on to coach at Detroit Mercy.After attending LeMoyne-Owen College, Gaines was drafted by the Detroit Pistons.
But he also had a chance to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, and he took that offer, joining the team in 1963. Gaines stayed with the Globetrotters until 1967.
He later played briefly for the Kentucky Colonels before joining the coaching staff at University of Detroit under head coach Dick Vitale.
When Vitale left the team, Gaines was promoted to head coach, becoming the team’s first Black head coach. He went on to become head coach at San Diego State University.
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