The State of North Carolina has lost it's most beloved citizen. There is unequivocally no one more cherished and loved in the Tar Heel State than Dean Smith. Even if you grew up cheering for NC State or Duke, you admired the way he went about his job.
Coach Smith's "Four Corner Offense" became the stuff of legends and he was credited with the implementation of the shot clock in college basketball because of it. Coach Smith helped to cultivate some of the greatest players in basketball history, and has been jokingly referred to as the only man in the world who could stop Michael Jordan.
To say Dean Smith was more than just a basketball coach is an understatement. Coach Smith's achievements both on and off the court show that he knew that his position as a basketball coach carried far more weight than just coaching 18-22 year old kids.
Smith was lauded for his ability to maintain a successful basketball program while still managing to graduate players at a high rate (over 95%) from one of the premier public universities in the country. As a coach he won 2 National Titles, 13 ACC Tournament Championships, 17 ACC Regular Season Championships, and took his teams to 11 Final Fours.
Over the next few days you'll likely hear from famous basketball players about how Smith changed their lives in one way or another, but what you won't hear is how many everyday people's lives he changed for the better.
You probably won't hear the stories from grown men who attended his basketball camps as kids, who will be shedding tears as they reflect on their childhood and everything they learned about basketball and life from Coach Smith. You probably won't hear stories from the staff who worked at Carmichael Arena and later at the Dean Dome, who went about their daily jobs with pride and a diligence because that's what Coach Smith would have done.
However, you probably will hear the story of the integration of The Pines restaurant in Chapel Hill as Coach Smith chose to sit with a black theology student and pastor to have dinner, because he knew no one would refuse to serve him. And if you haven't heard it, you need to, because that's what great people do when they have the ability to change things for the better. Most people reading this didn't grow up in segregation. I certainly didn't. I never saw black and white drinking fountains or segregated restaurants. I know about them only from stories told to me by my parents and documentaries, but the reason I'm blessed not to know about them personally is because of people like Dean Smith.
Carolina beat Boston College yesterday 79-68 with Smith's long time assistant Roy Williams coaching the team to victory. Carolina's next home game isn't until February 21st against Georgia Tech, where there will clearly be a long moment of silence in the center named after the basketball icon. Dean Smith died peacefully at his home in Chapel Hill on Saturday night surrounded by his family.
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