Growing Up, 1931-49: "Mother called him Christopher Columbus" Dean Edwards Smith was born on Feb. 28, 1931, in the east Kansas railroad town of Emporia, the only son of devout Baptist schoolteachers.

FILE - In an Oct. 9, 1997 file photo, North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith smiles during a news conference in Chapel Hill, N.C.,where he announced his retirement.

Dean Smith was a spiritual man, and there is no doubt if he had any say in the matter, this escape would have come long ago.

Dean Smith, who passed away at the age of 83 on Sunday, won 879 basketball games, two national championships, made 11 Final Fours, coached 24 first round NBA Draft picks, among countless other ...

And it resonated with coaches because they were in awe of Dean Edwards Smith, who died Saturday at 83, and his cognitive powers. Sometimes the awe was grudging, but it was there.

One night in 1965, when Dean Smith was still a 30-something basketball technocrat trying to justify his post as successor to the magisterial Frank McGuire, his Tar Heels returned to campus from a ...

Smith, who died Sunday three weeks shy of his 84th birthday, had faded from the college basketball scene since retiring in 1997 and as his health failed the last few years. He was a quiet coach, a ...

Legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died this weekend at the age of 83. Rather than repeat the honorifics about Smith's unbelievable career, here are some numbers that accomplish ...

Linnea Smith, his wife, talked about how she and Dean would bring the parents of recruits to their home just outside Chapel Hill. Dean didn't cook much, but on those occasions he grilled the steaks.

Dean Smith’s first face-to-face meeting with a potential new signing is crucial. He’s looking for a few simple traits: a man who can hold a conversation, asks questions and absorbs ideas.