[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE RETIREMENT OF DEAN SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 1997

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in March I stood before the 
House to honor Dean Smith for winning more games than any other coach 
in the history of college basketball. I stand again today to honor him 
in his retirement.
  In his 36 years of coaching at the University of North Carolina, he 
has stressed academics and winning the right way. He has demanded that 
the game be played well. He is a teacher. And he has always given back 
to our community. I first knew him in my student days in the 1960's as 
an active churchman and champion of racial justice. Throughout his 
career, he has remained humble in the face of overwhelming 
achievement--always sharing the credit with others and vigorously 
staying clear of the spotlight. It is with great pride that I rise 
today to shine that spotlight on the accomplishments of a remarkable 
man.
  Dean Smith is a monument to coaching excellence: 879 victories, 2 
national championships, 11 trips to the Final Four, 27 straight 20-
victory seasons. At North Carolina, he has coached 30 All-Americans. 
However, his excellence goes beyond this impressive record. He enjoys 
the loyalty of fans and the devotion of his players. Michael Jordan 
thinks of his former coach as ``a second father.'' Indeed, Smith is the 
patriarch of an extended basketball family. In the weeks since his 
retirement, members of that family--the former players Smith touched 
and the fans to whom Smith brought so much joy--have been struck by 
mixed emotions.
  We support his decision and wish him happiness in his retirement. Yet 
part of us wants him to stay forever. Hand-made signs hang in the 
storefronts and dorms of Chapel Hill begging Smith not to go. He is a 
legend that has brought pride and distinction to the University of 
North Carolina.
  His presence in college basketball is best described by a comment 
made by Coach Jim Valvano moments after his North Carolina State 
Wolfpack won the national championship in 1983. Valvano remarked: 
``This'll be really big news back home. Unless Dean Smith retires 
tomorrow. * * *''
  Mr. Speaker, I come from a state where college basketball loyalties 
assume fanatical proportions. But competing allegiances aside, we can 
all recognize Dean Smith's unparalleled success on the court, his 
devotion to his players, and his fundamental decency as a human being. 
We wish him well.

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