Quote:
Originally Posted by Nevadaref
Dean Smith only won two NCAA titles and it easily could have been zero.
If Fred Brown doesn't throw the ball to James Worthy in 1982 and Chris Webber does request an excessive time-out in 1993, history could have a very different take on him.
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IF not for key injuries and some fluke plays going the other way he could have easily won 4 or 5 national titles. What an odd and classless thing it is to point out that someone "only" won two national championships in the days after their passing.
Dean Smith is a coaching icon who has an unquestioned record as one of basketball's greatest innovators, tacticians, and winners. He is one of the main reasons that a guy who group up in VA and graduated from the Univ. of MD became a Tar Heel fan as a kid and remains one to this day.
And his record off the court is even more impressive as evidenced by the almost universal love that his players have for him decades after leaving UNC, the tremendous graduation rate during his tenure, and the equally universal reverence held by his coaching peers. He was also a quiet but strong leader on many civil rights and social justice issues for decades.
RIP Coach Smith. You left both the game of basketball and this world better than you found them.