RIP Dean Smith

[Peppers90 NC]

they are also irrelevant. Now that Cuse is out of the ACCT who are they going to beat to get invited to the big dance?

They've been irrelevant for a couple decades now, maybe that's why they're so hateful.

[KillerKat]

This is not about comparing Dean Smith to other coaches. Teaching kids to throw a ball through a hoop is, in itself, miniscule compared to what Smith did.  Dean Smith was a promoter of civil rights, an innovator, and a father figure to his players.  His players were not just pawns to help him earn rings and hang banners, which might be why there aren't more in Chapel Hill. He never sold out to win games.  He was about teaching life through the bonds of basketball--basketball was never meant to become life.  While on the biggest stage, he was clean, ethical, and successful.  You never heard F bombs coming out of his mouth, you never read about NCAA investigations.  Have you ever heard a former player speak of him without praise?  Smith was what fathers, coaches, humanitarians, and visionaries all aspire to be.  So before you compare him to some slimeball looking for loopholes in rules to win games with illiterate players from streets where blacktops and drugs are how they pass the time, listen to his players.  Worthy, Jordan, O'Koren, Daughtry, Scott, Cunningham, etc.  etc, etc., They are all articulate people who thrived after basketball because he recruited well-rounded, academic kids.  And he won with them.  Which is why we were so proud of our state's team.  They were clean cut, polished people who represented UNC with class during interviews and off the court activities.  How many of his players were arrested?  How many did he have to kick off the team?  Smith won the way winning should be accomplished, and very sadly, we will probably never see a coach of his character, class, and consistency again.  Smith wanted to win the conference title every year--that was his goal.  Now, our gluttony for winning has led to creative scheduling, more creative recruiting, and even more creative rule-bending.  Players use the school to promote themselves for the NBA where high dollar figures and self-promotion have deteriorated the purity of the game.  Most players stayed with Dean Smith for all four years because they valued what he offered more than money.  In the end, they were the wise ones, because what they were given can never be replaced.  Dean Smith only leaves behind memories and a rapidly fading Carolina blue print of what college basketball was meant to be.

So if you measure the man by his banners, there are those who surpass him.  There are coaches with more wins as well, but there is only one who embodies so much of what a human should be, and that person died last night.

best answer!

[teeray]

When you can legitimately claim these guys in your coaching tree you are pretty damn great.

Larry Brown

Roy Williams

Gregg Popovich

George Karl

There are more, but that is some of the best basketball minds that have walked the Earth.

[ladypanther]

Sad day.  He was a great coach but an even better person.  The latter is a loss to all.

[WUnderhill]

Huge loss. Let's not muddy his memory with pointless debate and trolling.

[Cape Fear Cat]

The greatest of all time.

They'll be dancing in the streets of Raleigh today.

 

Not if they have any class or appreciation for the game, they won't.

[TimTom]

I grew up a UNC fan because they happened to be good when I was a kid.  Then I "became" a Duke fan in high school because they happened to be good at that time.  I ended up going to Duke and only then did I truly understand the passion of the rivalry.  It's about mutual respect for doing it the "right" way.  Without Dean, there'd be no Duke-UNC rivalry in it's current incarnation.  Coach K would not have had Dean just up the hill on 15-501.  I understand the posts about comparing coaches, but today is not the time for that.  This is about recognizing a man's life work, sympathizing with his loved one's for the horrible manner in which his life ended, and hoping that he and they are at peace.

 

 

[stirs]

From a few years back

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory2008/columns/story?id=3268786

[PantherFanOne]

Rest In Peace Dean Smith. A great basketball coach and a fine man of high character that shared his own heartfelt principles to the players he coached.

[L-TownCat]

Most innovative, caring, and important coach North Carolina ever has or will see again.

Truly a great loss and as painful as I knew it would be.

36 seasons

35 winning seasons

879 victories

17 ACC titles

2 NCAA titles

None of those things were as important to Dean as were his players, his basketball sons.

When he retired, I cried in anger. When he died, I cried from sorrow.

Rest in peace Coach.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

RIP Coach

[DamnItJake!]

Great Guy..maybe this lazy team will use it as motivation as I am not impressed.. I know Paige tried to light a fire... Dean was a great Coach/Mentor!!

[Chaos]

For those not understanding how Dean changed the game, when you see a player score off an assist and then point at the player who threw them the pass - Dean started that.

When you see a team huddle briefly between a foul call and the free throws attempted - Dean started that.

If you were winded in the game you would put your fist in the air to signal you needed a rest. You could also put yourself back into the game when you were ready - Dean's system

He would pull a player from the game if they were scoring too many points. This is fact, he never wanted an individual accomplishment to supercede the team's accomplishments - Dean's philosophy.

The man was an innovator and great with turning kids into men.

[MHS831]

For those not understanding how Dean changed the game, when you see a player score off an assist and then punt at the player who threw them the pass - Dean started that.

When you see a team huddle briefly between a foul call and the free throws attempted - Dean started that.

If you were winded in the game you would put your fist in the air to signal you needed a rest. You could also put yourself back into the game when you were ready - Dean's system

He would pull a player from the game if they were scoring too many points. This is fact, he never wanted an individual accomplishment to supercede the team's accomplishments - Dean's philosophy.

The man was an innovator and great with turning kids into men.

 

These seemingly simple little things were small parts of a greater good. 

 

Unfortunately, when I reflect on Smith, it makes me wonder how far the team has fallen.  I would hope that Roy might get it back, but maybe there is no going back, for UNC or anyone else.