The church I attended in my hometown of Roanoke Rapids NC, East 10th Street Church of Christ, would take a trip to Chapel Hill one Spring day in 1992 and tour all of the sporting facilities. That sunny, Saturday afternoon would be the one and only day I would meet the greatest coach of all-time. It was the Blue/White Spring game for UNC football that day and I ran around the field after the game getting autographs from guys like Natrone Means and Rick Steinbacher; but, it was our visit to the Dean E. Smith Center earlier in the afternoon that really had a lasting impact.
My friends and I were so excited, bouncing off the walls to have a chance to take a look at and get inside the Dean E. Smith Center...the Dean Dome! And, finally, we were here. I had never been to any place like it. Carolina Blue everywhere. The basketball season had just ended and the Dean Dome was quiet and empty. It was just my church family and a few other onlookers in the Dean Dome that day. We walked around the concession area looking at team photos and just being kids, laughing and carrying on about our own basketball memories (we were young but it seemed like we had soooo many memories). Carolina would go on to win another NCAA championship the next season, so the win over Michigan and the Fab Five hadn't even occurred yet. Our church leaders reeled us in and took us to a section of the arena where it felt like we were on the court, but I know we were up in the stands a bit. It just felt really close, a very homey feeling for me.
I remember it like yesterday.
We sat there with our UNC Men's Basketball programs reading through the current roster of players and coaches pointing out Eric Montross, Pat Sullivan, Derrick Phelps, Henrik Rodl, Donald Williams, Brian Reese, Hubert Davis, George Lynch, and Kevin Salvadori (soon they would be champions). We were ecstatic just to have a magazine and sit in a Carolina blue seat for a few minutes. All of us were full of energy and having a ball as we each had never experienced anything like that before.
Then it happened.
Coach Smith came seemingly out of nowhere and greeted our group. The church leaders may have known this was going to happen, but us kids were pretty much in disbelief. Here is Coach Smith, the innovator and living legend we watch on TV grace the Tar Heel sidelines each and every game. We've heard the stories...like eight points in 17 seconds without a shot clock to beat Dook, the 1982 Championship game where Coach tells freshman Michael Jordan to "Knock it in" against Georgetown and Michael did just that, and we've seen tons of games via Raycom Sports and ESPN. But, this was on a whole different level. Coach Smith was right in front of us and said "Hello!" He welcomed our group to Chapel Hill and to where the Tar Heels play basketball. I now look back on it and think, 'He could have said where I coach basketball', but he chose to say "where the Tar Heels play basketball". Selfless, indeed. We said Hello back and he asked us our names and hoped that we enjoyed our stay in Chapel Hill that day. Uh, yeah, this is all we needed. Coach Smith then took time to autograph each of our programs as we peppered him with "Can you do this? Can you do that?" as any kids would do. Coach Smith took his time with us and really allowed the moment to sink in. But, as any memorable moment, it has to come to an end. And, in an instant, we were moving on to Kenan Stadium and my one and only personal meeting with Dean Smith was over.
I remember it like yesterday.
Fast forward five years and I now was working for a local radio station in Roanoke Rapids and learning the ropes in broadcasting as I was the on-air radio sports analyst for basketball, football, and baseball games in the area. Journalism and Mass Communication was my calling and I had applied for admission to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that year because it just seemed right. There really was no other choice. On my way home from the radio station on an early October afternoon in 1997, I was shocked to learn Dean Smith was retiring. I felt an empty pit in my stomach because I was being very selfish. I was upset that if I was accepted to UNC-Chapel Hill, my college years would never intertwine with Coach Smith's coaching career. I was only being human, any college kid that loved basketball would want to have Coach in his most familiar role upon arriving on campus. But, the retirement ceremony went on as planned. I pulled over into the Cracker Barrel parking lot as I was headed home from our country station WPTM 102.3 located in Weldon, and I just sat in my 1977 Chevy Malibu and listened to Coach Smith thank all of his players and coaches and family for how they had groomed him to be a better person. He was One of a Kind.
It was surreal. You think an icon and a legend will last forever, there is no way he can stop coaching. But, for Coach Smith, it wasn't about the glitz and glamour and awards and accomplishments, it was about his players and the men that he molded into graduates and healthy citizens. And, I was just mesmerized in that restaurant parking lot, like, "Wow, I didn't expect this at all."
I remember it like yesterday.
I was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and began my college years in 1998. I never got to see Dean Smith on the sidelines as Head Coach when I was a student, Dean had retired. But, his legacy lived on. I lived the first two years of my college experience on North Campus in Lewis Dorm. I was one of the lucky ones who was selected to live on North Campus (most freshmen started out on South Campus where there was no Air Condition). Across the hall from me and my roommate were a couple of guys that were involved in managerial duties for the Junior Varsity basketball team, I presume, and I would notice basketball players would frequent their dorm room from time to time. Brendan Haywood would stop by, ducking under the door entrance to avoid banging his head. So, after seeing the players come and go, I knew these dormmates must be pretty cool. Then, one of the most memorable nights of my life occurred.
I remember it like yesterday.
After a couple brews over at a friend's dorm room, I came back to Lewis around 11:00pm looking to just chill for the rest of the evening. But, upon my arrival, I was greeted with this question, "Hey Clary! We need another guy to play 5 on 5, you in?!" Well, I love playing basketball, so heck yeah I'm in. "Where are we playing?" I said. "Across the way at the Cobb court?" I will never forget what they said next. "Naw, man, we're going down to the Dean Dome to play." Excuse me? What did you just say? Dean Dome? ...Yes, I'm in! Even if this is against the rules...I'm in! I didn't even have any basketball shorts to wear, everything was in the dirty clothes. I had leopard print style boxers on, and that's what I would play in. We all jumped into the back of my dormmate's truck and headed to the Dean Dome. He had a key to the back entrance and we all went in, straight through the locker room walkway...the iconic walkway. I was in awe of the team photos and pictures of the past and present players and coaches as I headed out onto the court. We turned on a few lights inside the Dean Dome, just enough so that the whole court was illuminated. The courtside seats were pushed back and it was just us. Here we are, on the court where dreams came true and battles were fought. Each of us laid at center court and posed for pictures with the State of North Carolina all painted in Carolina Blue.
And there I was, not only in the building named for the Greatest Coach of All Time, but this time standing on the actual court. We proceeded to play for 2 & 1/2 hours full court in the Dean Dome and I soaked up every minute. I was part of the "Skins" team and you can imagine the sight of a long-haired college student, without a shirt on, in leopard print boxers going coast-to-coast for an uncontested layup (that happened just once) in the wee hours of the morning. It was a dream come true. And, I owe that moment to the legendary Dean Smith.
I was deeply saddened to learn of Coach Smith's passing last night when I received word earlier this morning while I was in church with my family. The world has lost such a great man, a man full of integrity and honor, a selfless man that wanted no recognition even when he deserved it all, a man that built loyalty and respect from his players, coaches, family, friends, and community. Dean was the Innovator and the Motivator, he broke boundaries in the State of North Carolina that, to this day, are looked upon in the highest of regards. My heart goes out to Linnea, the kids, and his family and also the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as we have lost a true legend of this sport and in life. May you rest in peace, Coach Smith, you will always be a Tar Heel! Today, and from this point forward, there really is a Carolina Blue Heaven now that the great Dean Smith has gone home. We Love You, Coach Smith!
I will remember this day, forever, like it was yesterday.
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