“Dean Smith, Ash Wood, North Carolina” © 2021 40 inches.
Price: $250, shipping not included. All pieces hang off the wall. All work is signed, dated, with its title. I will hand deliver the work to anywhere in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. I'll just need some gas money. Outside of the area, I will ship USPS, FedEx or UPS but it'll be pricey. We'll figure it out.
For those of you who are not from North Carolina, Dean Smith was the Men's Basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1997. His record was 879-254. He led UNC to national championships twice in 1982 and in 1993. Under his leadership, Carolina went to the Final Four 11 times, won the ACC regular season 17 times and won the ACC tournament 13 times.
Dean and Carolina won a lot of basketball games, but that's not really why he gets a wall piece.
Here's why.
In 1967, Dean recruited Charlie Scott, an African-American man, to play on the UNC men's basketball team. He was the first black player to play at Chapel Hill. It was a very big deal.
Also, Dean created what was known as the Sneaker Fund. Dean put the money he made from his coaching sneaker contracts into a fund in which former Carolina players could assess those funds if they had an emergency or they were just financial strapped. He thought it was unfair that he got paid by Converse or Nike, but his players got none of that money. So once they left school, players could have some of that money if they needed it. It has been used for medical emergencies, family tragedies, and drug rehab bills. Years after its inception, the Sneaker Fund still helps ex-players from Carolina.
Dean was also a liberal Democrat.
And he and Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke were good friends. Some North Carolinians hate Coach K. Dean did not. Nor do I.
By all accounts, he was a wonderful man. And he won a lot of basketball games.
In North Carolina, Jesus Christ sitteth on the right side of the Father, and Dean Smith sitteth on the left.
In Heaven, may you Dean teach God Almighty how to run the Four Corners Offense properly. It's a offense, God, not a slow down. You just need the right point guard to run it.
#deansmith, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries