UNC Legend Dean Smith Dies At 83

Dean Smith, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who championed racial equality died in his Chapel Hill home on Sunday. He was 83.

The man who is known for championing racial equality through basketball succumbed to a neurological disease that affected his memory among other things.

Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by no less than American President Barack Obama for his contributions to improving race relations. The NCAA coach with the highest number of wins at 879 and the winner of 2 national championships was also known for putting priority on emphasizing personal relationships with his players and encouraging his wards to not disregard a career beyond basketball, an imprint that was bestowed to arguably one of the best players of all time in Michael Jordan.

“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, coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it,” Jordan commented on the passing of his coach as reported by USA Today Sports.

Smith was instrumental in bringing over Jordan to the UNC in 1981 as he personally sent a recruitment letter to the high leaping superstar after he visited the campus in that year. He was also renowned due to his bold ideas and was the first coach to recruit a black scholarship player in the NCAA and an advocate of gay rights and a staunch critic of the War on Terror.

Dating back to his coaching years, Smith was famous for helming the rivalry with Duke University. His battles with equally legendary coach Mike Kryzewski who was all praises for the famed Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame recipient in 1983, were one of the highlights of his stellar career. Kryzewski shared that nobody could emulate the X’s and O’s ability of Smith and his innate ability to take the high road at all costs.

Smith started his Hall of Fame career as a back-up point guard for the Kansas City team that won the 1952 NCAA basketball championship. From there, he took assistant coaching gigs at Kansas and the Air Force Academy before being brought over to North Carolina as a part of the coaching staff in 1958 by Frank Maguire. When Maguire went into the NBA ranks a few years later, Smith was just a ripe 30 years old when he guided the Tar Heels. He found a lot of success in the 1960s when the team made three consecutive Final Four appearances.

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