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But became a huge fan several years after he retired when SI ran a feature about his passion and involvement in the death penalty debate. Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,781 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/8/2015 9:43:57 PM  Well, I'm sad to hear of Coach Smith's death, but I must admit that I had one personal experience that didn't leave a good impression with me. Years ago I was doing a story for an osteopathic publication about Phog Allen, who was, in addition to being a basketball coach, an osteopathic physician. I interviewed some of Phog Allen's former players to get some first-hand illustrations of the man and discover interesting stories about him. There were interesting stories from some former players about how he had used his osteopathic training to help with sports injuries, training, etc. One former player who never returned my calls was Dean Smith. This was despite the fact that his secretary kept assuring me that he would. Now, I don't know whether it was a communication issue within his office, or if he just dissed me. But, to this day, I really wish I had been able to do that interview. It would have really added some reader interest to the story. Last Edited: 2/9/2015 3:05:26 PM by OhioCatFan The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top OUVan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Bethesda, MD Post Count: 5,580 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 10:19:35 AM  No first hand interaction with Dean Smith but a couple of summers ago I was in a celebrity golf tournament and one of the players in my foursome was Dudley Bradley. Got to hear some really cool stories but when I asked him about Smith he got quiet and mentioned how sad a time it was for him because the man he knew was no longer there. He said Smith had a remarkable memory and even 30 years later would ask how his parents were doing and mentioned their names. He said it wasn't a gimmick either, he truly cared about his players. He echoed what Michael Jordan said about him. And remember he took the time out of his day to come down to talk to our players when we played there (2003 I think?) On a side note, I asked him about how Maryland fans treated him because of his defection (he was a Baltimore kid) to UNC and he said it got kind of harsh but it was fun in a way too. But he said the big take away was how good of a man Lefty Driesell was. He said that Lefty still called his mom every year on her birthday and called him occasionally just to say hi. You hear a lot of stories about the bad side of college sports but you don't hear enough about the really good stories. There are some really good people out there. Back to Top Pataskala General User Member Since: 7/8/2010 Location: At least six feet away from anybody else Post Count: 9,365 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 10:25:24 AM  Interesting piece in the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/02.../ We will get by. We will get by. We will get by. We will survive. Back to Top Joe McKinley General User Member Since: 11/15/2004 Post Count: 486 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 12:02:09 PM  OUVan wrote: No first hand interaction with Dean Smith but a couple of summers ago I was in a celebrity golf tournament and one of the players in my foursome was Dudley Bradley. Got to hear some really cool stories but when I asked him about Smith he got quiet and mentioned how sad a time it was for him because the man he knew was no longer there. He said Smith had a remarkable memory and even 30 years later would ask how his parents were doing and mentioned their names. He said it wasn't a gimmick either, he truly cared about his players. He echoed what Michael Jordan said about him. And remember he took the time out of his day to come down to talk to our players when we played there (2003 I think?) On a side note, I asked him about how Maryland fans treated him because of his defection (he was a Baltimore kid) to UNC and he said it got kind of harsh but it was fun in a way too. But he said the big take away was how good of a man Lefty Driesell was. He said that Lefty still called his mom every year on her birthday and called him occasionally just to say hi. You hear a lot of stories about the bad side of college sports but you don't hear enough about the really good stories. There are some really good people out there. Thanks for taking the time to share your stories, OUVan. Interesting and enjoyable to read. Some here might be surprised at how much of this kind of stuff goes on across and within programs. The same goes for player families in different programs -- many have known each other a long time. Back to Top Andrew Ruck General User Member Since: 12/22/2004 Location: Columbus, OH Post Count: 5,233 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 2:50:41 PM  Yeah but guys...he didn't return OCF's phone call. Andrew Ruck B.B.A. 2003 Back to Top TheRealMikeDrake General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Delaware, OH Post Count: 300 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 3:02:44 PM  Andrew Ruck wrote: Yeah but guys...he didn't return OCF's phone call. You say he didn't return his phone call. I say he was just running four corners waiting for the right opportunity. Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,781 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 3:07:45 PM  TheRealMikeDrake wrote: Andrew Ruck wrote: Yeah but guys...he didn't return OCF's phone call. You say he didn't return his phone call. I say he was just running four corners waiting for the right opportunity. ROTFL! Thanks this puts the whole thing a brand new perspective for me. The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top Jeff McKinney Moderator Member Since: 11/12/2004 Post Count: 6,155 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 10:03:33 PM  Any busy leader is susceptible to forgetting to return phone calls here and there. Why focus on that in this sad time for the basketball community? Back to Top OhioCatFan General User Member Since: 12/20/2004 Location: Athens, OH Post Count: 14,781 Status: Offline     RE: Dean Smith    Posted: 2/9/2015 10:26:39 PM  Jeff McKinney wrote: Any busy leader is susceptible to forgetting to return phone calls here and there. Why focus on that in this sad time for the basketball community? I didn't realize I was "focusing on it." I simply mentioned it. As I said in my original post, I am sad to hear the news. He certainly was a great coach and I admired his coaching ability. The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA "It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right." Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org Back to Top Showing Replies:   1 - 11  of 11 Posts Jump to Page:   1 View Other 'Ohio Basketball' Topics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               WHO'S ONLINE There are 226 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com 224 Guests 2 Registered Users:   shabamon, Cleveburg Bri There are no other users looking at this page.

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