The Greatest Coach of All Time, Dean Smith

I meant what I said in the title of this article. Dean Smith is simply not a coach, but rather the coach. As a native and longtime resident of North Carolina, I was brought into this world under the direction of my mother and I was immediately taught to appreciate the following things: God, southern culture, family, friends, and Carolina basketball. I have been an avid Carolina Tar Heel fan since I was old enough to understand what a basketball was, and without a father figure in my life, Dean Smith quickly filled that role. This article is about the life and lessons of the Hall of Fame legendary coach from the University of North Carolina.

Dean Smith was born in 1931 in Emporia, Kansas. His parents were public school teachers, and his father also coached basketball at a local high school. Dean Smith played in basketball during all four years at Topeka high School and his athleticism spilled into other sports as well such as football and baseball. Dean Smith went to the University of Kansas after graduation and continued to play basketball. In fact, Kansas won the national championship in 1952 when Dean Smith was on the varsity team. After graduating from Kansas, Smith was asked to serve as assistant coach on the Kansas team, and he eventually left this for a brief time in the US Air Force. He was asked a few years later by Frank McGuire to join his staff as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina. Little did they know a star was born.

Smith was assistant coach until 1961, when Frank McGuire was asked to step down, and a young Dean Smith took the reigns of the University of North Carolina basketball team. Like any new coaching position, the first few years were difficult. After the 1966 season, Smith began his domination in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and from then on he never finished below third in the conference. How's that for perfection? In the late 60's he won three ACC championships and made three Final Four appearances.

The style of coaching he developed over the years was unlike any other. His teams varied tremendously, depending on the talent and players that Smith had to work with. One thing was sure; he liked for his teams to run and take advantage of fast-breaks. Offensively, he encouraged his players to pass the ball and set up a half-court offense. Defensively, he perfected the art of trapping the ball and producing turnovers. This is where his math studies at the University of Kansas kicked in. Dean Smith was an innovator of many small things that have become commonplace in sports today. For instance, he insisted players that score a basket point a finger at the teammate who passed the ball, emphasizing the importance of teamwork. He invented a number of defensive sets like the point zone. Perhaps, Smith's biggest accomplishment is the use of his four corner offense, where the offense would run time down on the clock when leading at the end of a game. In fact, it was the four corner offense that led to the implementation of the shot clock so that it would speed up play. Many of his masterful strategies can be found Basketball: Multiple Offense and Defense, which is the best-selling technical basketball book in history.

Dean Smith coached at the University of North Carolina from 1961 to 1979. He finished his career with 879 wins, and most recently Bobby Knight passed this mark with Texas Tech. During Coach Smith's administration, he won two national titles and made 11 Final Four appearances. Perhaps Smith's biggest accomplishment is setting the Carolina standard. He was known for running a clean program, encouraging his players to stay in school and graduate, which was a staggering 96.6% graduation rate. Among other things, Smith is known for being a liberal, promoting desegregation by recruiting black players and pushing for more equality for blacks. The University of North Carolina, under Smith's tenure, has an impressive resume of former players including Michael Jordan, Phil Ford, Vince Carter, James Worth, Jerry Stackhouse, Larry Brown, and Antawn Jamison.

Dean Smith retired as head coach in 1997, but his presence remains on campus as Roy Williams now heads up coaching duties. Many believe it was Smith's influence that brought Williams to the University of North Carolina after Matt Doherty struggled with it for several years. I remember the day he retired. For me, it was very unexpected and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to him. Not only was he a great coach, but he was a beautiful human being.

Thank you, Coach Smith.