Dean Smith, UNC coaching legend, mentor, passes away

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Former University of North Carolina head men's basketball coach Dean Smith died Saturday night in Chapel Hill, according to the university. He was 83 years old.

“Coach Dean Smith passed away peacefully the evening of February 7 at his home in Chapel Hill, and surrounded by his wife and five children,” the Smith family said in a statement. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you.”

Smith was the head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997, retiring as the winningest coach in college basketball. He led the Tar Heels to national championships in 1982 and 1993, to 13 ACC Tournament titles, 11 Final Fours, and an NIT championship, and directed the United States Olympic Team to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games.

“It’s such a great loss for North Carolina – our state, the University, of course the Tar Heel basketball program, but really the entire basketball world. We lost one of our greatest ambassadors for college basketball for the way in which a program should be run. We lost a man of the highest integrity who did so many things off the court to help make the world a better place to live in," said North Carolina head coach Roy Williams. "He was the greatest there ever was on the court but far, far better off the court with people. His concern for people will be the legacy I will remember most."

ESPN’s SportsCentury program selected Smith as one of the seven greatest coaches of the 20th Century with Red Auerbach, Bear Bryant, George Halas, Vince Lombardi, John McGraw and John Wooden.

"Dean possessed one of the greatest basketball minds, and was a magnificent teacher and tactician," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "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."

"Sometimes the word legend is used with too little thought. In this instance, it almost seems inadequate. He was basketball royalty, and we have lost one of the greats in Dean Smith," said ACC Commissioner John Swofford.

When Smith took charge of the UNC basketball program in 1961 the team was reeling from NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. Smith responded with a strong dose of discipline in every aspect of the program.

"When Dean Smith blows his whistle to start practice, everyone jumps," former UNC assistant basketball coach John Lotz recalled. "It's serious business."

"Everything is timed," said Smith's former point guard Phil Ford. "This is no down-time. When he blows his whistle to start practice you'd better sprint."

A demanding coach with a warm heart and a fatherly spirit.

"The icon Dean Smith is a very caring man," said former player Lee Shaffer.

"He goes to every former, player's wedding. He keeps up on all the important things in their lives. He is everything to everybody," said Lotz.

"Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith. He was more than a coach – he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father," said former UNC basketball player Michael Jordan. "Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it."

"He stays with you throughout your life," said Smith's former player Jimmy Black.

Smith struggled in his first few years as head coach and was hung in effigy by Carolina fans. But his personal qualities eventually paid off in the living rooms of top recruits.

"When he was dealing with kids and their parents, he was magic. They appreciated his honesty," said Lotz.

"I really trusted him," said Ford. "Basketball wasn't everything to him."

Smith had a strong social conscience. He helped integrate Chapel Hill in 1966 by signing UNC's first black scholarship basketball player. That player, Charlie Scott, remembers Smith as a man of great humility.

"Coach Smith never takes credit for anything the players do," said Scott.

Even though it was Smith whose calm confidence and complex strategies led to late game success when the pressure was really on.

"He relishes it. The more the merrier," said Shaffer. "The more pressure the better he responds."

Like in 1974 when the Tar Heels overcame an eight point deficit in seventeen seconds and went on to defeat Duke in overtime.

Eight years later Dean Smith's Tar Heels again stood up to the pressure of a tight game and beat Georgetown for the coach's first national championship.

In 1993 the Tar Heels prevailed in another national championship game that went down to the wire. Those close to the program say Dean Smith's team was simply better prepared.

"He maintains people crave discipline," said former Voice of the Tar Heels Woody Durham. "That was one of the pillars of his basketball program that you learn."

This regimented approach paid off in the classroom with nearly 97 percent of Smith's players graduating.

"I really think that's important, that you are a student who happens to play," said the late Smith.

Student athletes with core values they learned from Coach Smith.

"Treat everyone with respect. Number two, punctuality. Number three, to work hard," recalled Black.

A formula that earned him 879 victories on the basketball court, an Olympic gold medal and a clean reputation. Plus a UNC family of graduates who went on to become successful CEOS, ministers, lawyers and doctors.

"When a player leaves here to go off into the real world they do everything they can to please him," said Lotz. "They really don't want to let him down."

"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," said Williams. "We love him and we will miss him.”

Dean Smith will be remembered as more than just a coach but a teacher, a father, a friend and truly a legendary figure in American sports.