Biography for
Dean Smith (II) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

28 February 1931, Emporia, Kansas, USA

Birth Name

Dean Edward Smith

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Spouse

Linnea Smith	(21 May 1976 - present) 2 children
Ann Cleavinger	(1954 - 1973) (divorced) 3 children

Trivia

Former head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina. One of only two people to play on a NCAA Basketball Champion (Kansas) and coach a NCAA Basketball Champion (North Carolina). The other is Bobby Knight.

Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Assistant coach for the United States Air Force Academy (1955-1958) and University of North Carolina (1958-1961).

Became the NCAA's all-time winningest coach (879-254, .776) following a 94-74 victory over Louisville in the 1997 NCAA Tournament.

Coach of the Year in 1977 (NABC), 1979 (Basketball Weekly, USBWA), 1982 (Medalist) and 1993 (Naismith). ACC Coach of the Year eight times (1967-1969, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993). Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated (1997). John R. Wooden Award (1999).

Coached the U.S. to the 1976 Olympic gold medal.

Compiled a record 65 NCAA Tournament victories.

Enshrined in North Carolina Hall of Fame (1981).

Graduate assistant for the University of Kansas (1953-1954).

Head coach for the United States Air Force Academy in Germany (1954-1955) and University of North Carolina (1961-1997).

Holds the record of 23 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Innovations by Smith: The four-corner offense, run-and-jump defense and foul-line huddle.

National championships (1982, 1993). 11 Final Fours (1967-1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997), second only to UCLA and John Wooden's 12 appearances. 13 ACC Tournament championships (1967-1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997).

President, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) (1982).

The "Dean Dome", UNC's home court, is named in his honor. The real name is the the "Dean E. Smith Center". It is nicknamed the "Dean Dome" by the fans and the local media.

Though a Democrat, he supported the losing campaign of Richard Vinroot (who played for Smith in the sixties) for Governor of North Carolina in 2000.

Has five children: daughters Sandy, Sharon, Kristen Caroline, and Kelly Marie; son Scott

Wife Linnea is a psychiatrist and anti-porn activist

One of three coaches to win the NIT (1971), NCAA Championship (1982 and 1993), and an Olympic gold medal (1976) as a head coach. Bob Knight and Pete Newell are the only other two to accomplish such a feat.

College coach of players including Larry Brown, George Karl, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, James Worthy, Buzz Peterson, Matt Doherty, Charles Scott, Rasheed Wallace, and Jerry Stackhouse.