03-17-2008, 05:10 PM
This story was contributed by the world famous St. Augie Doggie (staugiedoggie@acctalk.com)
For years Dean Smith has been hailed in Chapel Hill as the greatest thing since sliced bread. "Honor", "The right way", "The Carolina way", "Family and loyalty" are just a sample of the many slogans tossed about by the UNC loyalists when describing Coach Smith and his program. Along with "players in the NBA."
And of course, his famous "coaching tree".
With a cursory glance at basketball just this decade, o*ne would think that judging from the success of his disciples, Larry Brown and Roy Williams, that such terms hold a lot of merit.
But let's take a closer look, shall we?
We'll start with Brown. A vagabond coach who jumps from job to job, displaying none of the loyalty of which the Tarheel nation speaks. His successes at the collegiate level came with a price as he left both schools with whom he won a national championship facing imminent probations. So much for "the right way". Brown is also known as a malcontent who often points his finger at individual players and his teams as a whole when things aren't going his way. His foray into the Olympics in 2004, where he brought home the coveted bronze medal and his tenure with the New York Knicks being the two most recent examples of his "me first" shameless self-promotion. Hailed as the "best basketball coach in the world" following his 2004 NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons, Brown then sabotaged his team's efforts to repeat as champions by flirting, during the play-offs, with the Cleveland Cavaliers o*nly to wind up as coach of the Knicks.
Next, we look at Roy Williams.
The Huckleberry Hound of the coaching ranks, his "down home, aw shucks" persona belies the scheming, conniving cutthroat with a history of payola to players, accepting anyone who can help his program, clandestine dealings with the nefarious and infamous Myron Piggie, and backstabbing friends and colleagues.
Williams turned down the first opportunity to coach the Tarheels when, truth be known, he had a stockpile of talent at Kansas and was poised to make a title run and the UNC cupboard was emptier than at any time in the history of the school. o*nce his former protege, Matt Doherty, had resupplied the UNC program with National Championship talent, o*nly then did Ol' Roy stab his former assistant and friend in the back to take the job, and championship from him.
We can take a look at others as well, Doherty's highly public lynching at the hands of prima donna players with no backing from Dean or the UNC administration is yet another blight o*n the legacy of Dean's "coaching tree".
George Karl has been a coach in the NBA for a very long time and has won absolutely nothing.
Eddie Fogler, fired at USC. Buzz Peterson, fired at Tennessee. King Rice and his highly publicized antics, not the least of which includes going into the stands after fans. Curtis Hunter was fired from NC A&T State University following a 1-26 season!
And now we find yet another. Former UNC guard, and Dean Smith protege, James Daye, who, due to an affair with a student, was fired during his tenure at a South Carolina high school before even coaching a game, and has now caused such a rucus at his current job that the events in South Carolina have come to light.
There are others, with shorter, less stellar careers, Randy Weil come to mind, but I think we've seen enough to realize that the Dean Smith Coaching Tree legend is o*ne more of myth and style rather than fact or substance.
For years Dean Smith has been hailed in Chapel Hill as the greatest thing since sliced bread. "Honor", "The right way", "The Carolina way", "Family and loyalty" are just a sample of the many slogans tossed about by the UNC loyalists when describing Coach Smith and his program. Along with "players in the NBA."
And of course, his famous "coaching tree".
With a cursory glance at basketball just this decade, o*ne would think that judging from the success of his disciples, Larry Brown and Roy Williams, that such terms hold a lot of merit.
But let's take a closer look, shall we?
We'll start with Brown. A vagabond coach who jumps from job to job, displaying none of the loyalty of which the Tarheel nation speaks. His successes at the collegiate level came with a price as he left both schools with whom he won a national championship facing imminent probations. So much for "the right way". Brown is also known as a malcontent who often points his finger at individual players and his teams as a whole when things aren't going his way. His foray into the Olympics in 2004, where he brought home the coveted bronze medal and his tenure with the New York Knicks being the two most recent examples of his "me first" shameless self-promotion. Hailed as the "best basketball coach in the world" following his 2004 NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons, Brown then sabotaged his team's efforts to repeat as champions by flirting, during the play-offs, with the Cleveland Cavaliers o*nly to wind up as coach of the Knicks.
Next, we look at Roy Williams.
The Huckleberry Hound of the coaching ranks, his "down home, aw shucks" persona belies the scheming, conniving cutthroat with a history of payola to players, accepting anyone who can help his program, clandestine dealings with the nefarious and infamous Myron Piggie, and backstabbing friends and colleagues.
Williams turned down the first opportunity to coach the Tarheels when, truth be known, he had a stockpile of talent at Kansas and was poised to make a title run and the UNC cupboard was emptier than at any time in the history of the school. o*nce his former protege, Matt Doherty, had resupplied the UNC program with National Championship talent, o*nly then did Ol' Roy stab his former assistant and friend in the back to take the job, and championship from him.
We can take a look at others as well, Doherty's highly public lynching at the hands of prima donna players with no backing from Dean or the UNC administration is yet another blight o*n the legacy of Dean's "coaching tree".
George Karl has been a coach in the NBA for a very long time and has won absolutely nothing.
Eddie Fogler, fired at USC. Buzz Peterson, fired at Tennessee. King Rice and his highly publicized antics, not the least of which includes going into the stands after fans. Curtis Hunter was fired from NC A&T State University following a 1-26 season!
And now we find yet another. Former UNC guard, and Dean Smith protege, James Daye, who, due to an affair with a student, was fired during his tenure at a South Carolina high school before even coaching a game, and has now caused such a rucus at his current job that the events in South Carolina have come to light.
There are others, with shorter, less stellar careers, Randy Weil come to mind, but I think we've seen enough to realize that the Dean Smith Coaching Tree legend is o*ne more of myth and style rather than fact or substance.
