legendary  university of north carolina coach dean smith passed away last month aged 83 to heartfelt tributes from fans, colleagues and former players  legendary former university of north carolina coach dean smith passed away last month aged 83 to heartfelt tributes from fans, colleagues and former players now those very same players have another reason to salute one of the greatest ncaa basketball coaches of all time after he left each of them $200 in his will along with a request to treat themselves to a nice meal smith's former players have all received a letter from miller mcneish & breedlove, pa, informing them that the great man had requested each of his former players be sent a $200 check to 'enjoy a dinner out compliments of coach dean smith' the enclosed checks also included the notation, 'dinner out' smith coached an estimated 184 players from 1961 to 1997, reports sicom a host of sporting legends   led by michael jordan   paid tribute to smith after he passed away on february 7 jordan  described smith, who was the former basketball coach for the university of north carolina as 'a second father' he said: 'other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than coach smith' smith, who died peacefully at his home, left behind his wife and five children jordan, played under smith from 1982 to 1984 before embarking on his legendary nba career in a moving statement jordan added: 'he was more than a coach   he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father' smith's former players have all received a letter from miller mcneish & breedlove, pa, informing them that the great man had requested each of his former players be sent a $200 check to 'enjoy a dinner out compliments of coach dean smith' tributes for coach smith poured in from all over the sporting world in a series of messages on social media tar heels senior jackson simmons wrote on instagram that smith's 'impact on the game is one that will stand the test of time' fellow unc alum harrison barnes also honored the late coach by tweeting  thanks for all the things you stood for and believed in #carolinaway' born on february 28, 1931, in emporia, kansas, dean edwards smith was the son of public school teachers players: former unc players sam perkins, far left, james worthy, and michael jordan, second right, stand alongside former  coach dean smith  jordan described smith as like 'a second father' he graduated from topeka high school in 1949 and went to the university of kansas on an academic scholarship, according to goheelscom he played varsity basketball and baseball and freshman football for the jayhawks he was a member of jayhawk basketball teams that won the ncaa title in 1952 and finished second in 1953 smith also served in the us air force as a lieutenant and played and coached basketball in germany in 1958, frank mcguire hired him as an assistant coach at north carolina where he served as an assistant under mcguire for three years then smith became carolina's head coach in recent years, smith had been battling an illness that was causing him to lose his memory his family said in 2010 medal: larry brown, right, presents smith, with a medal during smith's induction into the national collegiate basketball hall of fame in kansas city, missouri, he has died aged 83  but roy williams, the current north carolina coach who spent 10 years as smith's assistant also paid tribute to him he said: 'he 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 smith was the perfect picture of what a college basketball coach should have been we love him and we will miss him,' williams added smith coached the tar heels from 1961 97 he retired after winning the most in the sport with 879 victories in 1982 and 1983 he won ncaa titles and coached such players as michael jordan and james worthy tribute: roy williams, left, sits with smith  in 1991, following his death, he paid tribute to him saying he 'was the greatest there ever was on the court, but far, far, better off the court with people' he reached 11 final fours, won 13 atlantic coast conference tournament titles and coached the us olympic team to the gold medal in 1976 during his career he had received many accolades and was inducted into the naismith memorial basketball hall of fame in 1983 he is also a member of the the fiba hall of fame, the north carolina sports hall of fame, the kansas sports hall of fame and the college basketball hall of fame but over the past five years smith had kept a low profile in 2013, his wife, linnea, accepted the presidential medal of freedom on his behalf from president barack obama
ex university of north carolina dean smith 200 dean smith' smith unc michael jordan
ex university of north carolina coach dean smith passed away last month aged 83 . his will included a request that each of his former players receive a $200 check to 'enjoy a dinner out compliments of coach dean smith'. smith coached an estimated 184 players at unc from 1961 to 1997 . basketball great michael jordan paid tribute to smith last month and described him as like 'a second father'