Dean Smith was the best, and I was there at the start

Posted Feb 18, 2015
Eons before that nuanced New Orleans night; before he became a genius coach and teacher, one of sport's venerated forces of nature, even some kind of spiritual leader and humanitarian dream figure, and of course an absolute legend; before he became Dean Smith, he was an assistant nobody, appointed to save basketball at the University of North Carolina after a scandal that left the team on probation. (Sports Illustrated)

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