By VICTORIA ADDISON
Sports Editor
Tragic news broke from Chapel Hill, North Carolina over the weekend as it was released that the legendary men’s basketball coach and Hall of Famer Dean Smith had passed away at his home on Saturday night.
According to a statement released from UNC, Smith, who was 83, died peacefully despite his health issues. In 2010, Smith was diagnosed with a progressive neurological disorder that affected his memory and robbed him of the many memories he had of his time as head coach of the Tar Heels.
In November of 2013, Smith was one of sixteen recipients to be honored by President Barack Obama by being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Due to his condition, his wife accepted the award on his behalf.
As a coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels for 36 seasons, Smith won two National Championships, one in 1982 and another in 1993. During his tenure as head coach, he had many accomplishments, including 11 Final Four appearances, 13 ACC Tournament titles, and eight ACC Coach of the Year awards.
Smith started his career with the Tar Heels in 1958 as an assistant to coach Frank McGuire. It was with McGuire’s decision to leave the program to coach the Philadelphia Warriors that Smith took over as head coach.
Smith went 8-9 his first season as head coach, which would mark the only losing season of his career.
More than 50 of the players Smith coached at North Carolina would go on to play professionally, both in the NBA or overseas. Some of those players include Sam Perkins, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, and the great Michael Jordan.
Jordan would lead the Tar Heels to a 63-62 victory against Georgetown with the game-winning basket, winning what was Smith’s first national title in 1982.
In a recent statement, Jordan is quoted to have said that Smith was “more than a coach – he was a mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for that. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life.”
A Kansas native, Smith attended college and played basketball at the University of Kansas. After he graduated, Smith briefly served as an assistant coach to the basketball program. He also had a brief assistant coaching stint with the Air Force Academy prior to joining North Carolina’s coaching staff.
Smith, who retired with more wins than any coach in men’s Division I history, will be greatly missed by the sports world, especially by those who were affected by his time at Chapel Hill.
