A Basketball Mind in Tune With the Social Fabric

As a lifelong Maryland fan (SC and Michigan Alum) who lived in Greendboro in the early 70's, I never liked the Tarheels when they played the Terps, but I always respected Coach Smith. His players were student athletes and this alone was a hugely admirable aspect of the Carolina program.

I salute you Coach, may you rest in peace.

Dean Smith's interest in erasing the color barrier and judging people on their ability was manifest long before he entered college coaching. As a high school student in Kansas and member of the basketball team at two different high schools, he spoke with the principals at each school about allowing black students to join the team. His interest in civil rights predates his days at Chapel Hill and were a value that he held as a teenager and which stuck with him through his life.

Coach Smith was giant of a human being. It is so reassuring to all who did know of his social activism that we weren't alone. He was an iconic figure the likes of whom comes along ever century or so.

Dean Smith was apparently a very fine man and highly successful basketball coach. But I never had respect for him as a coach when he used his four corners offense. That was stallball, slowing down the game to almost a stop. Stallball was legitimate (it's now impossible with the shot clock, which allegedly Smith was campaigning for) for a smaller or lesser team against a stronger squad. But for an equal, or even superior, team, I thought it cowardly and poor sportmanship. I was happy to see the four corners fail to work in the 1977 NCAA title game when Marquette beat North Carolina.

As a college basketball fan dating back to the 70s I always found myself rooting against UNC and Coach Smith. I must admit I was uneducated on the type of man Dean Smith was. After reading your column I have discovered he was a visionary that understood the importance of civil rights and treating every one equally. It was truly enlighting and provided a whole new prospective into the man.

A pioneer on AND off the court. Watching the vast number of his successors with their look-at-me style and win at any cost ways is so sad.

It's probably best not to overdo Smith's role in the movement for civil rights, still, he led by being better than he needed to be at the time, in accepting and promoting an unsegregated culture. It doesn't matter that he got away with it in part by being so brilliant; anyone who has lived in the South can appreciate that his actions were not typical and put himself and his position at risk.

He was a great man and not just a great coach. He also was the last of the Tobacco Road coaches when that term actually meant something, as in when he smoked on the bench during games early in his career.

He and Bear Bryant had that southern graciousness, that southern mystery and they used it for the common good. He will be missed. They literally do not make them like that anymore. But he'll be remembered forever and rightly so.

In the late early 70s I worked as a waitress in a steak house in Chapel Hill. Whenever Dean Smith brought his team in to eat it was a pleasure to wait on them. They were always polite and appropriate with the young waitresses, unlike some of the players on other teams. It was very apparent that the players respected and followed the lead of their coach.

When Coach Smith walked into that Chapel Hill restaurant in the company of Black members of his local congregation (the incident referred to by President Obama), he was an ASSISTANT coach at the time. He could have been fired and his career derailed before he even got a chance to win one game, let alone 879.

That says it all.

Dean Smith fulfilled those things that make a great person. He was also human and friendly. Not only a great coach and teacher, but a true humanitarian. His work with race relations and his stand against racism is being chronicled now in the period following his death. He was also outspoken against the death penalty in North Carolina supporting the moratorium on executions. He was particularly involved in the case of Alan Gell who spent seven years on death row after being falsely convicted. He was dedicated to UNC and his basketball team. The day after winning a National Championship he was in the living room pf Rasheed Wallace in Philadelphia on a recruiting trip. His life should inspire all of us to do better.

I used to have a family friend who said that if she had only a minute left to live, she would want Dean Smith managing the clock. I'm sad that his time with us has run out, but I think it's safe to say that in the games of basketball, life, class and goodness, Dean Smith took away solid wins. Thank you for the tribute to his significance both on and off the court.

My dad was a UNC graduate and followed basketball with great interest. Growing up in North Carolina, I naturally adhered. Coach Smith came along as the right person for the moment, bringing his players along as young men, not as basketball prodigies, to be taught more than the on-court skills that would make their team succeed; conferring dignity upon the sport; and always with humility and purpose. There aren't too many like him. We should all wish for more.

North Carolina has recently lost two men of conscience: William Friday, president emeritus died in 2012. Both Dean Smith and William Friday inspired a sensible and moral ethos at that university in their time.

I attended a game in Chapel Hill in the early seventies when some UNC fans began waving their arms and jeering when opponents attempted free throws. People forget this was not common practice until then, but it was quickly becoming the norm on most campuses. Dean had the game stopped, got on the PA system, and told the crowd that he would not stand for that behavior at UNC. It behaved the home crowd for several years, more than most places, but even Coach Smith could only keep his finger in the dike for so long. Bad behavior and unsportsmanlike conduct is the norm everywhere now, but he never promoted or condoned it. And it showed in his players and teams. He was a great leader, motivator, and teacher, who also happened to be a basketball coach. The world seems to be an emptier and colder place today.

Unconvincing examples of civil rights conscience, particularly him saying to himself that he should have taken his players to the 16th Street Baptist Church. That is ambiguous at best, left to observers to infer his feelings. Recruiting African American plays was good strategy for improving your basketball program, but says nothing about being a civil rights leader. An example would be Branch Rickey "breaking the color barrier" with Jackie Robinson. The story is much more complex than what most Americans think. Read Jason Sokol's recent book, "All Eyes Are Upon Us". Bigotry and biases run much deeper than ambiguous public demonstrations or statements. Two other books of interest, Shankar Vedantam's "The Hidden Brain" and Ian Haney Lopez's "Dog-Whistle Politics".

What has occurred at UNC since Smith (90+% players graduated) and the present lawsuit for failure to educate??

New coaches ?? New college president ?? Less promising students ??

Dean Smith, as this article makes clear, felt responsible for all aspects of his players' lives. He knew their families and upbringing, he kept track of their academic progress, and he broadened their world view by constantly emphasizing the need to prepare for life after sports. In return, those players -- from the megastars like Michael Jordan to the last scrub on the far end of the bench -- idolized him.

This kind of extended relationship is much more difficult to maintain these days. High school players are coddled and stroked to believe they are masters of the universe, and the lure of NBA riches has all but severed the ties of players to schools and coaching staffs. Plus, in order not to run afoul of the NCAA's arcane and Byzantine rules, coaches (including UNC's Roy Williams) are cautioned not to know or become involved in their players' academic standing. It's a cop out, borne of risk avoidance, but it protects the coaching staff against allegations that they should know how their players were performing in the classroom.

Fortunately, Dean Smith coached during a simpler time, when cultural bling wasn't as rampant as now, and youngsters needed and wanted a respected father figure who coached not just basketball, but life. Our sadness at his passing in part is a recognition of the end of a sort of elegance of intercollegiate sports, an elegance that Coach Smith personified.

Thank you for this piece. I feel privileged to comment and would like to add a personal note. Maynard Adams, a professor of moral philosophy for many years at UNC-CH and a friend, spoke with both admiration and appreciation of Dean Smith during a visit I had at his home in the mid-90's. Although I was already aware of the coach's extra-athletic qualities, this enconium from an honored and honorable member of the philosophy faculty, increased my admiration for this truly exceptional coach. May his example be remembered. RIP

I hope everyone at Penn State can see the difference between these comments praising Smith, and what people were saying about Paterno when he died. It's not impossible for a high profile coach to also show some moral fortitude.

A great person, of course a splendid coach but a truly great-hearted person.

We North Carolinians, and proud graduates of Chapel Hill, loved Dean Smith not only because he was a great coach (he was one of the best) but because he was a much, much better man than coach. And, like all truly great men, he didn't draw attention to his virtues; he simply lived them.

There's a palpable sadness felt among North Carolinians at his death. Its a testiment to how his life touched so many of us.

As the mom of two UNC-Chapel Hill grads ( and the "backup mom to many of their friends) I count myself very lucky that they were there during Dean Smith's career.
His integrity and devotion were never in doubt as he guided his players to succeed.
And to stand and root in the "DeanDome" while that building literally shook will remain a treasured memory.
RIP Dean Smith-Your legacy will certainly endure.

Some tribute should be paid to the structure he put in place to ensure UNC athletes going pro had first class financial and legal advice. Real protection and assurance of sound financial planning. Very few bankruptcies among his graduates.

It's a dishonor to remember Dean Smith for a couple of civil rights actions. Smith, day in and day out, was as good a basketball coach as there was. He spent a lot more time perfecting the four corners than he did standing up to racism. He was a gentleman which won him great respect, and deservedly so. Smith made Carolina blue stand for excellence in many ways, but little if any of that meaning related to civil rights. Smith was a great man because of basketball and his character. He was not a great civil rights advocate, and nobody should expect that of him. A great man should be remembered for what he was great at.

I was not "born" a Tarheel basketball fan. But I became a rabid, passionate one solely because of Coach Dean Smith. What he did on the court speaks for itself--LOUDLY. What he did as a person, what he WAS as a person, was not so visible or so well known. Coach Smith was more than a mensch. He was a tzaddik. How I wish sports, indeed the nation and the world, were blessed with more individuals like Coach Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Rhoden, for shining the light on the character of this truly great man.

Thanks for the wonderful summary of an amazing life. The commercialization of college sport seemingly forces many coaches and administrators to leave their humanity card at home. The need for courageous and socially-conscious leadership in college athletics is critical to the reform of the NCAA. We can and must do better. As it has been said, "success leaves clues." Coach Smith left us plenty.

The comment about Smith integrating a restaurant (The Pines) in Chapel Hill is a good one, but largely overblown. The restaurant may have been integrated for that afternoon lunch but it didn't fundamentally change segregation in Chapel Hill.

It was a few years after Smith 'integrated' the restaurant that demonstrators at this same place were arrested over their segregated policy, which led to protests and people getting bleach thrown on them and urinated on.

http://museum.unc.edu/exhibits/integration/quinton-baker-outside-a-chape...

Wow. A college coach with a social conscience. Take note NCAA division 1 coaches.

It is nice to read about this from a reliable source. I am not a Basketball fan but I do admire sportsmen and coaches whose morals and ethics mark them as outstanding people. Dean Smith was one. Hopefully a percentage of his players see some of his values in themselves.

When I was a little guy planning on being 6'11'', I was certain I wanted to play for Dean Smith on my way to the pros. Even though I missed 6'11" by a foot and change, my admiration for Mr. Smith never dimmed. The way he treated and promoted his players was the best ever. Mr. Smith was a class act. Period.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Coach Smith helped it along.

Living in Fayetteville, N.C. as a teen in the late 70s and cutting my teeth on ACC basketball rivalries, Dean Smith was already "The Dean." He was polite, a gentleman, and a class act. A demigod, in that part of the world. Dean Smith epitomized many wonderful things about the Tarheel culture, whether UNC, Duke, Wolfpack, or Wake Forest basketball. Rest in peace.

Terrific article. It provided some insights in to Dean Smith. Very positive and uplifting.

Thanks for enlightening us with Dean Smith's background and values.

At a time that Division I basketball and football can best be described as sewers, Smith stood out as not only a great coach, but, more importantly, as a great man. 97% of his players graduated, and, unlike the current situation at UNC, they took real courses.
We need more of him, and I say this as an emeritus professor at his great rival--Duke University.