Dean Smith
Dean Smith (1931-2015)
Last position: Head men’s basketball coach
Teams coached: North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina record: 879-254 (.776)
Overall record: 879-254 (.776)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 2 (1982, 1993)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 27 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 21 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 11 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997)
- NIT Championships: 1 (1971)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974)
- ACC Regular Season Champion: 17 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1995)
- ACC Tournament Champion: 13 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997)
- Helms Foundation National Championships: 1 (1982)
Awards:
- Naismith Coach of the Year: 1 (1993)
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (1977)
- Henry Iba Award: 1 (1979)
- ACC Coach of the Year: 8 (1967, 1968, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993)
- John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (1999)
- Arthur Ashe Courage Award (1998)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 1983)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1961-1997 | North Carolina |
| 1958-1961 | North Carolina (asst) |
| 1956-1958 | Air Force (asst) |
| 1953-1954 | Kansas (asst) |
Dean Smith Facts
- Dean Edwards Smith
- Born February 28, 1931
- Died February 7, 2015
- Hometown: Emporia, Kansas
- Alma Mater: University of Kansas (BS, 1953)
- The Kansas-native played at KU for legendary head coach Phog Allen; also played football and baseball for the Jayhawks
- Following his graduation, he spent one year as one of Allen’s assistants at Kansas
- Served in the US Air Force in Germany and, upon returning to the States, was an assistant coach under Bob Spear
- Was also the head baseball coach and golf coach while at the Air Force Academy
- Worked as an assistant to Frank McGuire at North Carolina from 1958-61 before taking over the program as head coach
- Illustrious 36-season tenure at UNC included 30 ACC titles (17 regular season, 13 Tournament), 27 trips to the NCAA Tournament, eleven Final Fours and two NCAA titles (1982, 1993)
- Smith has a graduation rate of 96.6% and was also a major proponent of desegregating college basketball
- Tar Heel greats coached by Smith include Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Mitch Kupchak, Bob McAdoo, Sam Perkins, Phil Ford, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and many others
- Coached the US Men’s National team to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal
- After his coaching career, Smith was active in charitable causes and liberal political action
- Suffered from dementia late in his life; passed away just short of his 84th birthday, survived by his wife and five children
- As part of his will, Smith left a $200 check for every former UNC lettermen he coached for a “dinner out compliments of Coach Dean Smith”
- Along with his first wife, Ann, had two daughters and one son
- Along with his second wife, Linnea, had two daughters
Dean Smith Coaching Tree
- Larry Brown (SMU, Kansas, UCLA, 10x NBA/ABA teams)
- Scott Cherry (High Point)
- Billy Cunningham (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Hubert Davis (North Carolina)
- Larry Davis (Mars Hill)
- Matt Doherty (SMU, FAU, North Carolina, Notre Dame)
- Rick Duckett (Grambling State, Winston-Salem State, Fayetteville State)
- Butch Estes (Barry, Guilford, Furman, Presbyterian)
- Eddie Fogler (South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Wichita State)
- Bill Guthridge (North Carolina)
- George Karl (numerous NBA and professional teams)
- John Kuester (Detroit Pistons, George Washington, Boston University)
- Jeff Lebo (East Carolina, Auburn, Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech)
- John Lotz (Florida)
- Doug Moe (Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs)
- Buzz Peterson (UNC Wilmington, Coastal Carolina, Tennessee, Tulsa, Appalachian State)
- King Rice (Monmouth)
- Ken Rosemond (Georgia)
- Tony Shaver (William & Mary)
- Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt, Raptors 905)
- Randy Wiel (Middle Tennessee, UNC Asheville)
- Roy Williams (North Carolina, Kansas)
- Joe Wolf (Greensboro Swarm, Colorado 14ers, Idaho Stampede)
