Dean Edwards Smith was an American men's college basketball head coach called the "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith had 879 victories during the coaching time between 1961 to 1997 in the NCAA Division.
He had the ninth-highest winning percentage of any men's college basketball at the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill. Smith is the reason the university gave an athletic scholarship to the first African-American basketball player.
Smith was born on 28th February 1931 in Emporia, Kansas, into a family where his parents were school teachers. His father coached the Emporia Spartans basketball team who holds the Kansas State Title.
Dean Smith Coaching Michael Jordan and others SOURCE: In 1934 the team was popular for producing the first American-African basketball player in Kansas tournaments history. Smith attended Topeka High School, where he was interested in playing basketball, football, and baseball. Smith played those three games at the University of Kansas and winning the national championship in 1952 in baseball, and reached the finals the next year.
Dean Smith SOURCE: Smith became the coach for the University of North Caroline after serving the United States Air Force, where he served as a coach for the Force academy's golf and baseball teams. He became the head coach and led only 17 games due to the scandal in the University and lost a record.
Smith led the team to win the tournaments, constantly appear in the Final Fours in the late 1960s, and successfully achieved the first-ever national championship during 1981 with popular players like James Worthy, Sam Perkins, and Michael Jordan. Smith then won the second championship during 1992.
Dean Smith with Michael Jordan SOURCE: In 1997 Smith retired from the coaching, stating he has no such interest in coaching as he used to have back then, and his family stated he had a neurological condition that damaged his memory.
The "coaching legend" died on 7th February 2015 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at 83.
Smith was a family man. He was married to Ann Clevinger in 1954, which he did before he deployed himself for the United States Air Force. The couple had three children two daughters named Sharon and Sandy and a son named Scott. The couple decided to divorce in 1973.
Smith married Linnea Weblemoe in 1976. Shortly after 3 years the divorce from his first wife, the couple had two daughters named Kristen and Kelly. Smith died at the age of 83, surrounded by his family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it is reported that he had left a $200 check to each of his former lettermen and a statement that they should enjoy a dinner compliments of their coach.
Also, Read Jim Renner
Smith served as the head coach with a consistently great performance and had collected a ransom amount of money with successful results. He has a networth of $5million but passed away in February 2015.
Smith helped promote desegregation and recruited the school's first African American basketball player on scholarship.
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