Dean Smith: More than a coach
Growing up in North Carolina, I was an avid fan of the game of basketball, and at the same time, I knew I wanted to become a Civil Rights attorney.
The Tar Heels became my número uno team as a kid in the 80s. And I fell hard for Dean Smith. No no no...not in a kiddie crush way, but in a way of admiration. I would watch his games and marvel at how much he reminded me of my elementary basketball coach, Coach Ed.
Coach Ed would never yell at us, he could just give us this look of disappointment or frustration and we would straighten up. He was quite like a loving parent in how he coached us.
I saw that in Coach Smith's approach, from as much as I could witness watching on TV. I always wanted to know more about him, so I would read old newspaper clippings at the library on this thing called microfiche (Boy has technology changed!!!)
I was beyond thrilled when learning of his work to desegregate Chapel Hill and college sports at my one day to be alma mater, UNC.
I made up my mind, in middle school, that UNC would be the only college for me...no matter what. I had fallen head over heels for that university...from watching every sport that came on TV with the teams donning that beautiful Carolina Blue (Carolina Blue = PMS® 542), to hearing Charles Kuralt's recitation of "What is it that binds us to this place...," I grew to love it.
But what actually sealed the deal for me was Dean Smith. I wanted so badly to attend a school where this tremendous man had presence, kinda like going to your grandparents' house...you knew you'd be welcomed and taken care of...I know that's odd, but I was a kid at the time.
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| Dean Smith showing proper shooting form. |
Coach Smith was my draw. I thought he was an amazing coach, but there was something that imminated from his spirit that drew me...heck it drew a lot of people. It even drew Michael Jordan! Jordan turned down many programs to attend UNC Chapel Hill, including Duke.
I watched Coach Smith go from fatherly figure to grandfatherly figure as players transitioned in and out of his program...his hair going from salt and pepper to gray and then silvery. He made a mark on the court that included tremendous transition defense with half court and corner trapping, the press and the legendary "Four Corners."
Coach Smith made a tremendous impact on his players as well. He graduated 96% of his players! (Yes, that predates the academic scandal.) I was so thrilled to go to this amazing university where this legendary man held court.
So then, in high school, it got real. I received academic scholarship offers to several universities, including Duke and a few very notable universities, but I turned them down. (Granted hindsight is 20/20...a more practical person probably would have taken them lol...but not to Duke...ha!) There was no question as to where I would attend school. I told my parents that if UNC rejected me I would not go to college. (Yeah, they looked at me like I was crazy. I was a poor (literally) little Black kid from a small town having the audacity to turn down free money to good great schools...maybe I was crazy...)
Needless to say, I got in and received enough scholarship money to pay for all of it. (Look at God!) A couple months into my tenure at UNC, the word came down that Dean Smith was retiring. I was mad and sad at the same time! I'm pretty certain that a few in my college crew shed some tears. (Yes I cried...I never cried about much back then...but I cried about sports...sue me!)
I never even got to meet him. Though I did get to see glimpses of him around campus. I never had the nerve to go up to him and say anything. (Oh, I wish I had my current nerve back then!!! LOL) As the years pressed on, I ended up in law school. Sometime after graduating, messages about Coach Smith's declining memory and health peppered the media.
It was heartbreaking to hear. So when we all learned of his transition on Sunday, I was saddened by the loss, but grateful that he was no longer suffering. I was also grateful for his humble and impressive presence while here on this planet.
His legacy is tremendous: Championships, the only man known to stop MJ, Civil Rights progressive, anti death penalty advocate, recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom, ambassador of the greatest university on the planet, but most importantly a man of faith, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a "gap filler," a friend and a phenomenal spirit.
So we mourn his life, but revel in the love he left.
Source of Photos: Twitter
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