Dean Smith - A legendary college basketball coach
Dean Smith was born on February 28th 1931 in Emporia, Kansas. Dean is regarded as one of the most successful coach in college basketball history winning 879 games before retiring in 1997.
Smith was known for being an extremely talented athlete both in high school and in his college years. He was a lettered in sports, he was named all-state in basketball after becoming a senior at Topeka High School. However his interest was not only limited to basketball. Smith also played as a quarter back for his football team in school and a catcher for his schools baseball team.
After he graduated from high school, he was enrolled in the University of Kansas on an academic scholarship. While in Kansas he played for the Jayhawks team, who won the 1952 national basketball championship. Smith remained diverse in college when it came to sports; he played football in his freshman year and varsity baseball. Legendary Forrest “Phog” Allen was Smith’s coach during his time at Kansas.
Smith graduated from Kansan in 1953, majoring in mathematics. He started serving in the U.S Air Force where he coached the Air Force golf and baseball teams. By 1958 he was hired as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina and after three years progressed into becoming the head coach.
University of Carolina’s, Tar Heels, won two national championships in two consecutive years, 1992 and 1993 respectively under Smith supervision as head coach. Smith also took his team to the final four playoffs 11 times. Smith is known to have mentored legends like Michael Jordon, Vince Carter, Sam Perkins, James Worthy and Rasheed Wallace. Jordon considered Smith as his second father and has been praised by him many times in various interviews.
Dean is widely known to be an innovative coach. His coaching style featured a fast-break style and half-court offense which strongly focused on passing the ball. His team has won more than 20 games, in 27 consecutive seasons, with a record of staying in the top 3 for thirty-three years straight. Furthermore, more than 90% of players who have been under Dean’s supervision have graduated with a degree.
1976 was a great day for America as Dean Smith took the USA basketball team to a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada.
Smith is also famous for being an avid supporter of the Democrats in Politics. His most recognized move in the political front was promoting desegregation; he recruited Charlie Scott to play for the Tar Heels giving him the University of Carolinas first black scholarship athlete. He also helped Howard Lee black to purchase a house in all-white neighbourhood, he has also spoken on many radio shows back in the 80’s about freezing the nuclear weapons and how he opposed the Vietnam War.
Dean was also asked by the Democratic Party to run for the United States Senate which he declined. He has known to endorse Barack Obama when he was a senator. He has openly spoken about g*y rights, war in Iraq and has expressed how he is extremely against death penalty. In 1998 he called Governor Jim Hunt a murderer exclaiming, “The death penalty makes us all murderers” after appearing in the clemency hearing for a death row.
Smith announced his retirement in 1997, with an astonishing 879 wins under his belt. He was named Sportsman of the Year by the Sports Illustrated upon his retirement, followed by ESPN naming him as the all-time greatest American coach.
By ‘98 he won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award which was presented to him by the Annual ESPY Awards. Smith was also considered in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame followed by Bill Russell, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson and Dr. James Naismith and by the following year, he was also placed in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Tags: