Dean Smith suffering from memory loss issues

I am saddened to read this. Hope he improves but I think the best anyone can hope for is that he is surrounded with friends and family and at peace with no pain. Sorry to hear this, Coach.



http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5388500

 

Best wishes to the coach.

 

Pat Forde wrote a nice piece that I think should be shared here as well.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...d/13313/forde-recalling-deans-powerful-memory

 

My step father and Coach Smith used to be real good friends. He was the teams dentist for a long while. Couple of funny stories. I used to work part time at a 7-11 on highway 54 between Durham and Chapel Hill, one day of all people Coach Smith stopped in on the way back from the airport and bought cigarettes. Coincidentally, my mom had been on a flight with him maybe 5 weeks earlier (this was before my mom married my step father by 2 years or so) My mom had gone up and asked for and gotten an autograph program from Coach Smith for me. 5 weeks later he walks in to store and I tell him my mom had gotten an autograph program on such in such flight from him and before I could introduce myself he said "Oh you must be Paul..." Blew me away. here is a guy back in the 70's that must meet 100 people a week and remembers the name of someone he had never met.
Second story, a friend of mine used to live in the Glen Lennox neighborhood of Chapel Hill next to a basketball court where evidently one of Dean Smiths kids lived as Coach Smith, his wife and a grand daughter (I think) were walking and playing. The kid referred to Mr Smith as coach rather than Grand dad or whatever

 

cool story PP.

hate that Dean is losing that legendary memory. there is a crazy-long Dean photo series here with all kinds of cool pictures. Lots of people in this series. pretty cool, lots of ACC history.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/07/16/1566564/dean-smith-through-the-years.html

 

As you read more and more of those stories you realize that Smith possessed a truly special memory. Just adds to the tragedy. I'm sure he had a catalog of basketball plays/situations that he had seen just like he cataloged stories about everyone he ever met.

 

great read

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/07/20/dean/

 

Thanks. I enjoyed that.

 

Thanks. Even though I despise the Heels, it's hard to hate on Coach Smith.