The basketball world is saddened to learn of the passing of legendary coach Dean Smith. Smith was 83 years old. Best known for his time coaching the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, where he led the school to two National Championships, Smith also coached the Olympic Gold Medal winning United States team in 1976, and was a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, while still on the bench at North Carolina.
A statment from Smith’s family, and released by the school, indicated that he passed away peacefully in his North Carolina home on Saturday night.
Roy Williams, the current North Carolina coach who spent 10 years as Smith’s assistant, said Smith “was the greatest there ever was on the court but far, far better off the court with people.”
“I’d like to say on behalf of all our players and coaches, past and present, that Dean Smith was the perfect picture of what a college basketball coach should have been,” Williams said in a statement. “We love him, and we will miss him.”
Williams coached the likes of Michael Jordan and James Worthy at North Carolina. Jordan credits Smith as a huge influence in his basketball career and life.
“Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith,” Jordan said in a statement. “He was more than a coach — he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life. My heart goes out to Linnea and their kids. We’ve lost a great man who had an incredible impact on his players, his staff and the entire UNC family.”
Smith was an innovator, and his four corners melting-time offense was the main reason behind the creation of the shot clock. He was the first coach at North Carolina, and among the first in the segregated South, to offer a scholarship to a black athlete.
He also played under Phoag Allen, and coached at Kansas, making him a direct basketball descendent of basketball creator James Naismith.
During his 36 years as head coach at North Carolina, he led the Tar Heels to 13 ACC tournament championships, appearances in 11 Final Fours, five national title games and NCAA championships in 1982 and 1993. North Carolina won at least 20 games in each of his final 27 seasons and made 23 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament. He retired as the winningest coach in NCAA history, and had only one losing season in his career, his first.
“We have lost a man who cannot be replaced,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He was one of a kind, and the sport of basketball lost one of its true pillars. Dean possessed one of the greatest basketball minds and was a magnificent teacher and tactician. While building an elite program at North Carolina, he was clearly ahead of his time in dealing with social issues.
“However, his greatest gift was his unique ability to teach what it takes to become a good man. That was easy for him to do because he was a great man himself. All of his players benefited greatly from his basketball teachings, but even more from his ability to help mold men of integrity, honor and purpose. Those teachings, specifically, will live forever in those he touched.”
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