Iconic Coach Dean Smith Dead At 83

[The Poet]

Every March we see the clip of Michael Jordan hitting that corner jumper to "win" Dean Smith his first NCAA Championship in 1982, after 6 fruitless trips to the Final Four. Some remember that it was not him but James Worthy who was the MVP of the game, nor remember that, after the famous bad pass to him by Fred Brown, Worthy did not go in for an uncontested dunk to ice the game, but rather tried to dribble out the clock. He was fouled, then missed both free throws to give Georgetown one last shot at winning the contest. And how many remember that, early in the game, Carolina's best offensive option was putting up a soft jumper and letting the over-hyped Patrick Ewing goaltend it.

You know what I remember, aside from all of that? I remember all the talk that Coach could never win a championship due to his vaunted system. In fact, not only did I read this in the magazines and papers (remember those?), I heard it in conversations during my commute home the evening before the game, jammed into a PATH train with a herd of Big East fans. I remember the post-game interview with Coach Smith, when he repeatedly deflected the question about any relief he might feel of finally "getting the monkey off his back", with Coach softly yet firmly avowing he was always proud of all his teams, win or lose. At last, giving up on this fruitless line on inquiry, the interviewer (Jim Nance? That I DON'T remember) said he would let Coach go get his net cut from the hoop behind his shoulder. Coach Smith gave a slight shy smile, then held up a modest 3-inch piece of twine, and replied "I have my net already."

That was Dean Smith, to a T.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/dean-sm...inglePage=true