Dean Smith Among College Basketball Coaches Who Changed the Game

Posted Nov 16, 2021
Dean Smith, the head coach at North Carolina for 36 years (1961-1997), was one of basketball's more forward thinkers and statistical minds. He used advanced analytics as far back as the 1960s, when his team managers tracked points per possession. “All signs point to him being the father of basketball analytics,” said longtime NBA executive Daryl Morey. (History.com)

Related: Basketball, Tar Heels in the NBA

UNC men's basketball's bench has potential, but it's built on unknowns
Jaydon Young said he doesn’t think about the looks he’s going to get when he enters a game. He just wants to play hard. And...
Thu Oct 29, 2026

Carolina Basketball Looking to Shake Slow Starts Entering Regular Season
Slow starts were an issue during Hubert Davis’ final seasons at UNC, and through three exhibitions under Michael Malone, that trend has yet to disappear...
Thu Oct 29, 2026

UNC Basketball's preseason wasn't always pretty, but October isn't the time to panic
The preseason is over. So, it's fair to ask: how are UNC fans feeling ahead of the season? If the answer is slightly concerned, that's...
Thu Oct 29, 2026

UNC graduate student took data science to the hardwood
As an undergraduate student at North Carolina, Boris Crnjak homed in on statistics and data science as his fields of study. “I’ll figure out the...
Thu Oct 29, 2026