Dean Smith Essay

Dean Smith is one of the most well known and winningest American men’s college basketball coaches of all time. Not only do his peers notice him as one of the greats, the Basketball hall of fame has called him a coaching legend. Although he unfortunately passed away at the ripe age of 83 years old in his historic town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he will be remembered forever for his respectable and clean coaching style. He started off his basketball career at the profound university of Kansas where he won a national championship in 1952 and came up just short in 1953 where they unfortunately lost to Indiana in the Finals. As well as playing varsity basketball at Kansas, he was a varsity letterman in baseball, played freshman football, and

He knew that every player was going to face an up or down in their career and he knew how to help them overcome that down or help them succeed even more during their highs. Dean refocused his own adversity that he faced throughout his career on his players and used it as teaching points. He realized that how you handle adversity is key in winning championships as well dealing with adversity comes from within. Once he realized the internal factor that the players were trying to overcome, he was able to help them overcome these obstacles and keep their confidence high to perform at their best. If he didn’t do this, his players wouldn’t have the confidence to make that key shot in a tight game or defend like they know they can. He taught players to not blame external factors and focus on overcoming the internal obstacles they are going through, which were factors that they would be able to

But not only did he show immense respect towards his players, he showed respect to everyone around him, and that showed by the tremendous love he received by those around him. The way he achieved this respect by others is caring for the entire Chapel Hill community. His main leadership principle was that he would always practice what you preach. If you aren’t capable of pushing yourself to be the best in practice and you are just doing enough to get by, it won’t translate to your best in games. Another way that Coach Smith gained respect from the people was the way he integrated Chapel Hill and the ACC. During the horrible time of segregation in the world, Smith was the first coach to recruit an African-American player in the ACC. He also was very active in the community by helping to desegregate restaurants and buildings in Chapel Hill. He didn’t see a difference in any race and thought that if you were good enough to play on his team, you were given the chance. Coach Smith was a very cooperative head coach in the way that he appreciated every team member. He always gave the players on his team his undivided attention whether it was a meeting with the whole team discussing previous or upcoming games, or individual meetings where he would hold calls from important people to listen and help his players. He taught players that no matter what you role on the team was, whether it was an