Legendary UNC coach Dean Smith dies at 83

CHAPEL HILL, NC (WWAY) — Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith has died. He was 83.

“Coach Dean Smith passed away peacefully the evening of February 7 at his home in Chapel Hill, and surrounded by his wife and five children,” the Smith family said in a statement shared by the UNC athletic department. “We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you.”

Smith was the head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997. When he retired, he was the winningest coach in college basketball. Smith’s record in 36 seasons at UNC was 879-254. That included national championships in 1982 and 1993, 13 ACC Tournament titles, 11 Final Fours and a NIT championship. Smith also coach the US Olympic Team to a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal.

“He was the greatest there ever was on the court but far, far better off the court with people. His concern for people will be the legacy I will remember most,” current UNC coach Roy Williams, who was an assistant under Smith from 1978 to 1988, said in a statement. “He was a mentor to so many people; he was my mentor. He gave me a chance but, more importantly, he shared with me his knowledge, which is the greatest gift you can give someone.”

A Kansas native, Smith played for the Kansas Jayhawks under legendary coach Phog Allen. Smith is one of only two men, along with Bob Knight, to both play on and coach an NCAA championship team thanks to the Jayhawks’ 1952 national title.

In 2013, Smith received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, an award that his wife, Linnea, accepted on his behalf from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony.

Smith was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983 and is also a member of the the FIBA Hall of Fame, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was named to the inaugural class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame along with James Naismith, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and John Wooden.

Photo Courtesy UNC Athletic Communications
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Click the icon above to see what Dean Smith meant to former UNC basketball standout Buzz Peterson. (former UNCW head basketball coach from 2010-2014)