Legendary UNC coach Dean Smith remembered as a mentor

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Legendary North Carolina Tar Heels coach Dean Smith, who died Saturday just two weeks short of his 84th birthday, is being remembered as a mentor, teacher and civil rights activist.

Smith coached the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997, and retired as college basketball's all-time wins leader. He led this team to national championships in 1982 and 1993, and made 11 Final Four appearances.

He also was coach to many NBA stars, including Michael Jordan, who released this statement:

"Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith. He was more than a coach -- he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life. My heart goes out to Linnea and their kids. We've lost a great man who had an incredible impact on his players, his staff and the entire UNC family."

President Barack Obama also honored Smith, recalling the work he did off the hardwood, as well:

"(Coach Smith) graduated more than 96 percent of his players and taught his teams to point to the teammate who passed them the ball after a basket. He pushed forward the civil rights movement, recruiting the first black scholarship athlete to North Carolina and helping to integrate a restaurant and a neighborhood in Chapel Hill. And in his final years, Coach Smith showed us how to fight an illness with courage and dignity."

#RIP to one of the greatest teachers our beautiful game of basketball has ever seen #DeanSmith

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) February 8, 2015

Smith was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, in November 2013. The North Carolina basketball arena is now the Dean E. Smith Center.