Brendan Haywood on Dean Smith: 'He was more than just basketball' Posted Feb 10, 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers center Brendan Haywood chose to go to North Carolina specifically to play for legendary coach Dean Smith. Haywood never got that chance, as Smith retired before Haywood's freshman year, but that didn't change the impact Smith made on Haywood's life and basketball career. "Biggest thing about Coach Smith to me is that he cared about people individually. It was more than basketball." (Cleveland.com)