Coach always said it was about his players, not about wins or losses, and certainly not about him. His was the only voice objecting to the naming of the new athletic center after him, and he valued the bench-warmers and walk-ons as much as the stars.
The old joke was that the only man who could hold Michael Jordan under 20 points was Dean Smith, simply because his philosophy of team play and the extra pass for a higher-percentage shot did not rely upon the stats of a single player, no matter how talented. Jordon was so disgruntled by these shackles that he always wore UNC shorts under his NBA ones while playing with the Bulls and Wizards.
