Tribute to Dean Smith

I watched hours of coverage Sunday morning and was struck by one thought. When Wooden passed away the talk was mainly about what a great coach and motivator he was. Morality was discussed, but mainly within the frame of his greatness as a coach. There were very few interviews where former players talked about what a great coach Smith was. The talk was about what a fantastic father figure and man he was. Stories about how he took care of his former players, from the superstars to the guys at the end of the bench. What a remarkable life.

I moved into my new home in June of 1999. My neighbor came by and introduced himself to me. During the conversation he asked me if we were UNC fans. I told him we were huge UNC fans. He began to tell me that one of his best friends was Dean's Secretary and had been for numerous years. He stated that Dean still came into his office that they had kept for him there after he retired. He would come in just to read his mail and schedule his speaking engagements. He went on to tell me that Linda was still his secretary and she would introduce my family to her.

Well one night the door ball rings and Jim comes in with Linda. She has brought a signed book by Dean and a plastic bag with all the NC rings and ACC championships rings in it that she got for being part of the program. She went on to say that if we would like to eat lunch with Dean one day she would be glad to set it up. We did at the Dome and it was awesome. Numerous times Linda would give us her parking pass which allowed us to park in Dean's parking location right at the Dean Dome. And the seats were pretty good. Lol. Linda still works in the office part time. And she eventually moved in with Jim while he was sick to take care of him. She is now my next door neighbor.

I still get tickets dropped in my mail box from time to time along with the parking pass. When Linda talks about Dean you can tell she truly loved him and admired the man he was. My boys were the envy of the community while they were living at home and getting the perks. Hom many kids get to drive right up to the Dean Dome and sit courtside? It actually was quite funny to me. One night Linda offered to give Jeff my youngest son who signed with UNC her 1982 championship ring. My wife refused to take it. I about fell out of my chair. But it was the right thing to do.

Dean was a good man and he was truly loved by everyone that knew him. I think Linda has finally decided to retire. He was a great coach.

Great stories Coach May!

UNC's official site for athletics asked fans to submit their memories. Here's what I sent them:

"A UNC student in the 1970's, I never knew Coach Smith. However, I happened to know fellow students who were associated with the program in various ways: the varsity point guard, a JV player, and the team's statistician. 

Dean Smith was the whole package.  Incredibly successful coach AND human being.  In my life time, he is the college coaching gold standard for what a coach should be.  JMO. 

So, to show you the difference, Jerry Tarkanian just died. Tarkanian was a hell of a coach and was greatly respected in the coaching community. I don'r want to make light of his career, but you can see the difference between him and Smith. Here's the best quote they've gotten on Tark so far, from Bill Self:

"The thing about Tark that amazes me, obviously he won a ton of games, obviously he recruited unbelievable players, obviously he got them to play together and to play hard," Self said.

"The players that play for him, the ones that I know, all sing his praises. They say he was a tough, tough guy. He loved the game. He had great respect for the game and for other coaches. I love Tark."

That shows a lot of respect, but it isn't the same as what we saw in dean Smith.

Funny when I heard Dean Smith died the one thought I had was "I wonder if Tark is still alive". I actually googled this two days ago.

I saw both men coach games in person.  I tremendously respect them both.  Tark's image in my mind stays imprinted longer - watching him chew on that towel.  Can't get rid of that picture in my brain.

RIP, both of them.  Leaders of young men.

I recently attended a game at Duke.  I spent much of the game watching Coach K.  Was about as fascinating as anything I've seen in a coach.  Duke lost to Miami that night.

Dean Smith was a great coach and a class act. My wife is a Tarheel, and Dean Smith's daughter is a close friend. She was a bridesmaid in our wedding. 

Good stuff everyone...

I think Tark does deserve mention.  My impression was he lived at the very edges of recruiting - perhaps always one step ahead of the posse.  Maybe John Calipari is a modern day version?  Either way, Tark had a different kind of player than what was typically recruited at North Carolina or Duke.  His kids mainly came from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds and Tark got them to play.  They were street ball personified and they were good.