What would Dean Smith say if he were still with us?
A fraternity brother emailed me a grainy videotape from 1996. It was of our alumni banquet at the Carolina Inn, where Smith was our guest speaker one beautiful spring afternoon in Chapel Hill.
Smith was charming, funny and self-effacing, recounting some of the mistakes he made and bad advice he had given people during his career. We didn’t know it then, but he was heading into his last season as coach of the Tar Heels. He is missed for much more than that.
I couldn’t help wondering what Smith would say today about the world. He would be 89, an age we all expected him to live to since his parents both made it to their mid-90s, and he had their genes.
A few years ago, I often pondered what Smith would say about the academic-athletic scandal that rocked UNC. His family and friends believed he could have helped Carolina craft a more consistent message and certainly his influence in college athletics wouldn’t hurt.
John Wooden was 99 when he died, and up until the last few years he was still visiting with former players and advising them, along with anyone who consulted with him on almost any subject. I envisioned Smith would have done the same, but only when asked, rarely initiating something unless he had good reasons to do so.
That happened only once that I can remember when what was then named the consolidated university released a report about academics and athletics on the flagship campus. Rick Brewer called a press conference, and we all attended anxiously.
Smith and assistant coach Bill Guthridge walked into to the room at the Dean Dome, both carrying files under their arms. Smith said they were academic records of every player in his program since 1963. He had proof to refute what the Board of Governors had concluded. Smith was hot under the collar.
In the past, he had stood at Vietnam War vigils, campaigned for Howard Lee and Harvey Gannt and pulled one all-nighter protesting the death penalty. Tell me, what might have Dean Smith said about today?
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