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Dementia is such a cruel way to go. RIP Coach Smith.
True.
Exercise, vitamin D, body composition, no long term constant use of diphenhydramine. All things that can help (help, not stop) stave off dementia.
Condolences to his family and many friends. It’s a joy that his soul has found peace and rest. It has been a very difficult past several years for the poor man. A very cruel way to end life, indeed.
I’m sure we will do a nice job honoring his memory on Wednesday night.
I’m sure he’s already found a pretty good team of greats to coach up there…
I’ve heard many a story, and talked to some who have played for the man, and the common denominator is always that he was twice the man as he was the coach – that he’d do anything for anyone. And folks, he was quite the coach, there is no question about it.
Rest in peace.
I grew up watching Sloan and Valvano face off against Coach Smith. As little as I cared for the Tarheels at the time–I can tolerate them in small doses now–he was always a class act. And probably didn’t get nearly the credit he should have for it. I respected him as a rival coach and admired him as a man. That’s probably the best most of us can ask for at the end of it. RIP.
That death is so horrible for family and friends even more than the individual. RIP in peace Dean Smith.
… here’s the thing you won’t hear anywhere else about Coach Smith…
There’s a million … that 33,000 times 30 years…. or more…
North Carolina born boys who played “better basketball” because of their “proximity” to Coach Smith.Some even tried their hands at a little coaching … and taught some more boys “better basketball” …
None of them played college basketball.
None of them attended UNC.But they all were better men than perhaps they otherwise might have been.
I grew up in Burlington.
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!I know how hard it is to go through or watch a beloved family member go through the stages of dementia…I am watching my MIL go through the same thing now. It’s not pleasant, not in the least.
RIP, Coach.
^Indeed. I had the unfortunate experience of watching my Dad progress through the stages of Dementia. He was a brilliant man, well known in his business, and a Wolfpack alumni (Class of 1952). He passed away in 2011 at age 84. I shall never forget the insane cruelty of the disease, and the despair and helplessness, especially in the latter stages of the ordeal. It was an ordeal for both the man, and those who loved him. I wish that upon no one, absolutely no one.
My thoughts and prayers for Coach Smith’s family. May they find peace.
It is fascinating that many have gone through the decline and death of a loved one with AZD…. I went down that path. I had my mother “tested” just to make sure before we began a rigorous “slowing down” treatment. What I found out was that she was brilliant. Had an IQ almost in the MENSA category…..obviously passed me by….but my son got the genes.
Then I found out that the “smarter” or more intelligent a victim, the easier to hide or cove up….as you would develop your own compensation system or crutches….and by the time your relatives or friends figured out (or were diagnosed), the worse you were.
Cruel disease….really cruel.
As to Coach Smith. I certainly think he was one of the brilliant minds in modern day Basketball. He was competitive….no doubt about it and he used every “trick” he could muster to win….which is OK….as long as you don’t bend the rules…TOO MUCH….
He was also a very kind and caring man….personally did not agree with his political or social stances….some a bit radical, but we are all entitled to stand up for what we believe. He was a great individual on and off the court.
All the “Pontification” of Coach Smith, especially by the wags and clickers that really do NOT do any research is a bit “OVER THE TOP”. He was a leader….and he took a chance at UNC on Charlie Scott…who supposedly was being heavily courted by Lefty at Davidson.
UNC, GASP, was NOT the center of the universe for Civil Rights. If you read some of the Black History articles written by UNC profs and UNC Black (first ones) Alumni, it was not exactly the George Wallace of the ACC, but FAR from a leader.
NCSU had a Black BB player, on scholarship, the year AFTER Charlie Scott. BUT, U of MD, had one a year BEFORE Scott. If you read all the tributes, one would think that UNC was the first. What the folks are NOT saying is that UNC did NOT want a Black BB player…and Coach Smith stood up and said….NO, I’m gonna do it. Doesn’t QUITE come across that way when you read the articles.
In fact, NCSU was probably the FIRST…and leading the “pack”. We had a Black Tennis player in the mid 50’s. He was the Captain of the Tennis Team. He also was an EE and maybe the FIRST Black NCSU Grad. UNC, to their credit, did have earlier Black grads….but their tales of having their swim card revoked and the fact that several of the Alphabetical Graduates would NOT march before or after them or they were “spaces” between THEM and the Graduates is probably MORE telling of the attitudes “OVER THERE”….
So, all in all, Coach Smith DID break a Racial Barrier….however, it was not really the ACC, but actually UNC.
Wonder HOW MANY of the AFAM students get the FULL story.
With all of Coach Smith’s accomplishments, the “misremembering” of WHY Charlie Scott was such a BIG Deal at UNC (and NOT the ACC) is a little like Bryan Williams embellishing his credentials. He is certainly a great news person and has a tremendous resume….but WHY sully it with hyperbole, that is false, and, utterly, NOT NEEDED….? That is what I object to about Coach Smith….
RIP, Coach. You took up the chalice when Case was tired….and were part of what made the ACC so famous.
BUT, if you have EVER read Jimmy V’s account of what he said when asked how he will “Beat” Coach Smith….it is very chilling.
Easy….I’m gonna outlive him….THAT still gives me the chills.
Great Facebook post here from Bob Valvano about Jimmy V and Dean Smith”
I have quoted it most of my professional life…
“You can’t make winning and losing like life and death. For starters, you’ll be dead a lot.” — Dean Smith.
Perspective. I thought it was simple, clear perspective.
Dean Smith died today at 83, and it generated a lot of emotion, not the least of which was a little dark humor irony.
When my brother Jim got the job at NC State, everyone asked about how would he be able to compete with the legendary Dean Smith?
He said, quite sincerely, “Look it will be hard. He’s one of the greatest ever. But we will work hard, and we’ll win some of our own.”
Then he added tongue in cheek, “Besides, I’m much younger. I’ll outlive him.”
Nope. Dean wouldn’t even let him win that…
Obviously when Jim went to State I became a huge State fan, but I must confess I grew up a Carolina fan. I can tell you exactly when it started… I was in junior high, and the Tarheels came to Madison Square Garden to play in a doubleheader there.
I loved everything about them! The fast pace of play, pointing at the teammate who gave you a good pass, taking yourself out of the game if you were tired but having the right to put yourself back in when you were rested…
Who did stuff like this? No one.
The bench players standing and congratulating a guy coming out of the game, hell, even the pretty cheerleaders… Everything just fit perfectly. The whole package. And it was all about team first.
As a guy who grew up in a family of coaches I loved that it was team first. That’s what it was SUPPOSED to be.
Sure, some of it may have looked calculated, but so what? The intent was to put the team first and to make everything fit consistently together. One message.
Here is an example. I heard Coach Smith at a clinic once. He said to all of us, “Where do you try to force the opponent to take the ball when you’re on defense?” Like many, I said, to the corner. He said, “All right, now do you have any offensive plays where you throw the ball to the corner?” I confessed we did. He then said, “That’s a problem for your team then. Any smart player is going to wonder, ‘If it’s so bad to have the ball in the corner, that we work defensively to force the ball there, why are we willingly throwing the ball there when WE have it ourselves?’. Your system has to send a consistent message to your players.”
I never forgot that, and actually spent that summer changing our system, making our offensive and defensive principles more complimentary and consistent relative to the other.
He could influence you that way, as he was a great teacher of the game. I once heard him lecture on the Carolina Scramble defense, and right now, about 22 years later, I could probably off the top of my head give you the principles of how to run it and implement it. That’s impressive teaching.
But it was more than that. I grew up in an era where coaches, despite their competitiveness, had a sense of fraternity. They weren’t making huge sums of money. They fought tooth and nail, but the guys I admired felt part of a special bond.
In the ACC that was very tough. I don’t think Dean was especially close with the other coaches. But at that time NCState was probably a bigger rival to Carolina than even Duke was, and yet Dean and my brother Jim always got along well.
Here is one of my favorite stories. One summer day, Jim is home with his wife, and the doorbell rings. He opens it and who is there, but Dean Smith and his wife Linnea. A bit startled, Jim is happy to welcome them in, and they spend a great afternoon visiting and laughing.
Dean happened to be in an area near Jim’s house and said to his wife, “Let’s see what Jim and Pam are doing,” and they just dropped in!
I am sure the people who want every rivalry to be ugly and nasty, are shocked at that, but it’s the truth and I loved it… And I know Jimmy did too. He mentioned it often.
When I was coaching in Sweden, I brought my team for a US tour and we stopped at NC State. This was right after they built the Dean Dome, and Jim said, “Let me call Dean. You have to take your team over to see that building… Your players will love it… ”
That was old school to me. The community of basketball. I loved it… And lament it’s decline now.
Don’t get me wrong. Dean Smith was a fierce competitor (as was Jim for that matter.) I remember Dean telling a story that they had to come up with all these rules between his friends to govern their golf game because the gamesmanship was getting out of hand.
But that’s what’s tough. Any jablonski can have a win at all costs attitude. That’s nothing special. How do you do it with a sense of something greater than yourself, respect for the game, respect for opponent, respect for self? THAT’S what’s special.
I think Dean Smith did that.
It took my brother a few tries to finally win one against Dean, and Jim told me that when he finally did, as they shook hands at mid court, Dean said, “Congratulations…I’m happy for you.”
Classy thing to say.
He had the fortitude to stand up for racial equality way ahead of some others, and did so often courageously in the face of strong criticism. He believed it was right though, and stood up for what he believed.
My friend Seth Greenburg made a great point.
He said, Dean’s players loved and respected him, and even after leaving Carolina, rarely made important decisions in their lives without first consulting him.
I called him on the phone to ask something about an article I was trying to write, and after he answered my questions, we chatted a bit, and I was amazed he seemed to know where every ex player was. Ones that I knew as well, who might have been struggling or out of coaching at the moment, he often referred to as hoping to get them here or there, on this job or that. Not posturing either. That was obvious…he took that part of his life very seriously.
For all the accolades, championships, awards, and honors, is there a greater legacy than knowing you made the lives of the people you touched better?
To borrow one of Jim’s favorite expressions…
Without question… Dean Smith did that.
It was an honor to have met him.^I heard some of Bob’s Espn radio show on Sunday night while driving. He relayed those stories and more about Jim and Dean. Pretty fascinating.
@ plmelton7 … Thank you so much for reposting that article by Bob V… put’s a whole of things in a better perspective…
@ Roo… well… you up brought it up first… I was going to wait until next week… until the parade was over… so we might as well add this to the myth-busting….
North Carolina State, then still A&M, I think… had a WOMAN on it’s Board of Trustees… in the mid to late 1930’s… a couple of decades before the Women began their takeover over in Chapel Hill….
Imagine how that happened….
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
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