CHAPEL HILL, NC – Gone but never forgotten. Nearly 10,000 people including former UNC players and alumni, gathered to remember a legendary Carolina basketball coach. Dean Smith died earlier this month at the age of 83.
For longtime fans and alumni, Sunday was more like a homecoming than a memorial. “He’s the epitome of Carolina,” says Mandeville, LA resident Rick Staggers.
Players from each era of Smith’s 36 seasons shared how the coach molded hoops players into men. “If you knew Coach Smith, it wasn’t about wins and losses, it’s about the impact that he had on our lives,” said Former UNC and NBA player Antawn Jamison.
“He never talked about winning. Only improving. He never embarassed a player. He was both a humble winner and a gracious loser,” said former player Mickey Bell.
Fans say Smith’s efforts to do things right became known as the “Carolina Way.” “You know, if you’re wearing this light blue, make people proud of it, don’t do anything that’s going to shame to colors or the name of the university. Do everything the right way,” explains Winston-Salem resident Susan Dillingham.
And that’s a tradition fans and alumni say lives on through current coach Roy Williams and all who played or coached under Dean Smith.
