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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

— -- 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 ...

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 ...

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.