BURR. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate and celebrate the life
of Coach Dean Smith. Dean Smith's accomplishments as coach, mentor, and
teacher made him a legend in our State, and far beyond Tobacco Road.
Brooke and I were deeply saddened to hear of his passing, but he left
his indelible mark on our State. Under his stewardship, UNC-Chapel Hill
became the formidable college basketball powerhouse that it is today.
While he was a winning coach, he also encouraged his players to excel
in the classroom and taught well beyond the locker room.
Coach Smith was born in Emporia, KS, in 1931. The son of public
school teachers, his lifelong dedication to teaching on and off the
court was instilled in him from a young age. Dean was a high school
athlete playing basketball, football, and baseball. He earned an
academic scholarship to the University of Kansas. While at Kansas he
played basketball and was a member of the 1952 national championship
team. He began his coaching career there in 1953 as an assistant coach.
Dean Smith then served his country in the U.S. Air Force. In 1958 he
was asked to serve as assistant coach for the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Three years later he would become the head
coach for UNC. His first season as head coach was his only losing
season in his 36 year coaching career.
His early days as coach were not always so smooth. In 1965, the UNC
fans hung him in effigy after a loss to my alma mater, Wake Forest
University. But, soon enough, he enjoyed tremendous success as a coach.
He is considered one of the greatest to ever coach the game. His
accomplishments are too many to list. Some of his most memorable feats
include 2 national championship titles, 11 final four appearances, 17
regular season ACC titles, 13 ACC tournament titles, 27 NCAA tournament
appearances with 23 of those being consecutive. He was the National
Coach of the Year four times. Dean had 879 wins in his 36-year coaching
career making him one of the winningest coaches of all time. Five of
his players went on to be Rookies of the Year in the NBA or ABA. He
coached Team USA to gold in the 1976 Olympics. Legendary UCLA coach
John Wooden once said ``Dean is the best teacher of basketball that I
have observed.'' His philosophy known as the ``Carolina Way'' still
rings true today. Play Hard, Play Together, Play Smart.
Coach Smith's influence extended far beyond the basketball court. He
was a champion for social justice. He was the first UNC coach to offer
a scholarship to an African-American player. He encouraged many local
businesses to desegregate during the 1960s. He served as a mentor to
his players and always taught them that education came first. During
his career over 95 percent of his players received their degrees. His
former players remember the fact that Coach Smith not only taught them
about basketball, he taught them about life.
Throughout his career, he was a fierce competitor but was always
respected by his opponents. There was never a hint of scandal about how
he recruited players or how he ran his program. He was a pioneer in the
art of assembling a long-term winning basketball tradition. Basketball,
UNC and all of North Carolina have lost a giant with his passing.
I extend my sympathy to his wife Linnea and to all of Coach Smith's
family.
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