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.

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.

On Sunday, when he learned Smith had died at the age of 83, he said simply and quietly, "I'll miss Dean." If Smith wasn't the last of his kind, he was certainly one of the last, a man from an era ...

— -- Dean Smith was one of the finest coaches in the history of American sport. His championship record, innovation, teaching and influence in the lives and careers of players and coaches are ...

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 ...

The remembrances of Dean Smith continued Monday as college basketball observers fondly recalled the legendary former North Carolina coach, who passed away Saturday at age 83.

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 ...

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 ...

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.