article_snippet: Ex-University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith coached an estimated 184 players from 1961 to 1997, reports SI.com.
article_snippet: Born on February 28, 1931, in Emporia, Kansas, Dean Edwards Smith was the son of public school teachers.
article_snippet: Dean Edwards Smith played varsity basketball and baseball and freshman football for the Jayhawks.
article_snippet: Dean Edwards Smith was a member of Jayhawk basketball teams that won the NCAA title in 1952 and finished second in 1953.
article_snippet: Dean Edwards Smith also served in the US Air Force as a lieutenant and played and coached basketball in Germany.
article_snippet: In 1958, Frank McGuire hired Dean Edwards Smith as an assistant coach at North Carolina where Dean Edwards Smith served as an assistant under McGuire for three years then Dean Edwards Smith became Carolina's head coach.
article_snippet: But Roy Williams, the current North Carolina coach who spent 10 years as Dean Edwards Smith's assistant also paid tribute to Smith's assistant.
article_snippet: Smith's assistant said: 'Smith's assistant was the greatest there ever was on the court, but far, far, better off the court with people.' 'I'd like to say on behalf of all our players and coaches, past and present, that Dean Edwards Smith was the perfect picture of what a college basketball coach should have been.
article_snippet: Dean Edwards Smith coached the Tar Heels from 1961-97. 
article_snippet: Dean Edwards Smith retired after winning the most in the sport with 879 victories.
article_snippet: In 1982 and 1983 Dean Edwards Smith won NCAA titles and coached such players as Michael Jordan and James Worthy.
article_snippet: Roy Williams, left, sits with Smith  in 1991, following Smith   death, Smith   paid tribute to Smith   saying Smith   'was the greatest there ever was on the court, but far, far, better off the court with people' Smith   reached 11 Final Fours, won 13 Atlantic Coast Conference tournament titles and coached the U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal in 1976.