But theres also the fact that Dean did it his way, which was entirely predictable. (Smith told me), Its just not coming back. (Updated at 2:22 p.m.) By Elizabeth A. Davis Associated Press Writer North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge retired Friday after three years as Dean Smith's successor, a move that opens one of the . But it is my opinion that he expected, when he first told me that, that he would continue to be the coach.. In that July or August period, when Coach Smith basically told Coach Guthridge for the very last time in his life, Im not ready, Im not gonna do it again, then I think Coach Guthridge told him at that point that hed really like to try, Hanners says. In our prayers. All the things he couldnt do during the daunting in-season months. (An aside: if Doherty stays, does Mike Brey, succeeded him and still remains in South Bend, get that job, or is he elsewhere too?). Maybe Phil Ford wouldve been the head coach then, Ndiaye says. Guthridge . But the Tar Heels advanced to the Final Four. My guess is that Coach Guthridge probably never came back from that place after Coach Smiths death and I would speculate that Coach Smiths death may have been the final straw of an increasingly-unfamiliar and disconnected life for Coach Guthridge. Baddour says he never got that far down the line because of Guthridges interest. The manager put down his stuff and rifled through his pockets. Hanners, one of Fords close friends to this day, recalls the natural coaching instincts Ford had when the two oversaw the JV team. Guthridge was completely committed to Carolina basketball, and he wanted to make sure everyone else in the program felt the same way. He bought into everything. In that scenario, Williams never leaves Kansas and Ford probably never leaves North Carolina. When Coach Smith announced he was retiring and that Coach Guthridge was taking over, then it all clicked into place for me, Hanners says. He was 77. Guthridge was a player and then an assistant coach at Kansas State . He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . You come up one year, and that year you win the national championship. As good a person as I ever met. Only, given Guthridges age at the time (60) and the fact that hed always said hed retire when Smith did, Baddour wasnt totally sure Guthridge was interested. The protege was named Naismith College Coach of the Year in his first season as Smith's replacement. Former UNC Coach Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 77 w/ family at his side. That's exactly what they did. But Guthridge, who died Tuesday at 77 of heart failure, was not just one of the best college basketball coaches of all time, he was an unfailingly decent man who displayed a rare degree of. But if Smith was selfless in his handling of McAdoo, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9, 1997. (LogOut/ Had it worked out where there wasnt a down year or whatever, maybe things end up differently, Frederick says. "Mak said he gets this call from his mom: 'Mak, there's this man here in Africa, says he's your coach,' ". "From cultivating a global mindset across campus to partnering with researchers across the world, we make connections that strengthen our state and establish Carolina as a leading global public research university.". One of the things that made (Smith) so special was his ability to be innovative so certainly, I think we would have had some other ways to attack in a game that we struggled, against Utah in the Final Four.. But it was as if the whole contraption was tilted, resting at an incline so that the sand would never get to the bottom. Peterson -- who roomed with Jordan on those early 1980s teams -- said Guthridge kept the program going off the court, with the assistant making him run the school's golf course at 6 a.m. as punishment for once being late. His calm demeanorhe could sometimes be found sitting in the stands an hour before road games eating popcorn or a hot dogmasked a passionate love for the Tar Heels. And for as much as he did enjoy those three seasons, the same obligations that wore Smith down got to Guthridge as well. "He, like Coach Smith, was more of a mentor and father figure than anything else. Not only did he coach me on the freshman team, he was my coach, another mentor, a friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25, earned the ACC Coach of the Year award and guided North Carolina to the Final Four before losing to Utah. "I'd always set my time to GST, 10 minutes ahead.". Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to Smith, the winningest coach in college basketball history. In his 33 seasons at Carolina, the Tar Heels won two NCAA championships, in 1982 and 1993; played in 12 Final Fours; won the ACC Tournament championship 13 times; and played in the ACC Tournament championship game a total of 22 times. He was my friend, a father figure, a big brother for me just like he was for so many players," current UNC coach Roy Williams said. Yeah, Id say that was more likely than unlikely., I wouldve gone to where I went two years later, he says. In 1998, the Bill Guthridge Distinguished Professorship in mathematics was established. The university made a huge misstep when it hired former UNC player, Matt Doherty, a young, untested coach in the league of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and a 180-degreechange from the coaching styles of Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge, as its head basketball coach in 2000, when Coach Guthridge retired. While serving as an assistant coach, Guthridge turned down several head coaching opportunities, preferring to remain in Chapel Hill working alongside Smith. And I think he probably had second thoughts, because at what point was it really a danger? Guthridge was criticized last season by alumni and fans for losing five games at home the most since World War II and for a record that dropped to 18-13 after a first-round defeat in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. No, I couldnt even consider that, Smith said. We didnt play well for just five minutes, and that decided the game.. Fast-forward to present day, and he has surpassed Smith in both national championships and wins. Guthridge had once accepted Penn States head coaching vacancy in the 1970s, only to return to Chapel Hill before his connecting flight to State College. He was on the sidelines for a record 73 NCAA Tournament victories, including 71 at Carolina and two at Kansas State. Its funny, I talk to (Williams) players, and with the thought of the day, and the way things are run, and I go to their practices, Jamison says, its Coach Gut, Coach Smith in a younger body.. Guthridge would still call on Smith, after all, to speak to the team at certain times. He is one of five people to have appeared in the Final Four as both a player and coach. Guthridge was the consensus National Coach of the Year in 1998. That team reached the Final Four and almost reached the title game even though Jamison and Williams missed 22 field-goal attempts in a 65-59 semifinal loss to Utah. He won more games than any college head coach in history after just two seasons and tied N.C. States Everett Case for most coaching victories after three years. Bill and Dean, friends for life. And so those players, all of them, kick around the questions to this day. The University is currently operating under normal conditions. In his three seasons as head coach Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the NCAA final Four twice, in 1998 and again in 2000. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five picks of the NBA draft. We offer our deepest condolences to the Guthridge family as they grieve the loss of a wonderful husband and father.. Guthridge, who like Smith was a. Who will win each 2023 conference tournament? That season, he led the Tar Heels to a 34-4 record and the final No. The guys worked hard and didnt lose confidence, Guthridge said after the season. He was a perfect sidekick for Coach Smith. Note: Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. Dean Smith unexpectedly retired as head basketball coach at North Carolina just two months before the start of the 199798 season, and Guthridge was immediately named his successor. Bill was a great coach, but he never got enough credit during most of those years. I will miss his kindness and wisdom. That image of Guthridge is accurate but not complete. The family told team spokesman Steve Kirschner that Guthridge died of heart failure and that the coach had lived with a heart condition the past seven years. That not-wanting-to-step-on-toes thing? I was just happy that the team had success. At one point he thought he wanted to be a head coach, but he also decided that he really enjoyed Coach Smith and the program here and why should he leave when he has what he thought was the perfect job., Bill was uniquely special. In 2000, the Tar Heels struggled in the regular season, falling out of the polls for the first time since the start of the 199091 season. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report. It was profoundly hard for Coach Guthridge to watch his lifetime friend become forgetful and lose the memories they shared together, not just as the architects of a fantastic and highly-ethical college basketball program, but as friends who regarded each other and their respective families as their own. He led the program to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons at the helm before retiring following the 1999-2000 campaign. One year against Laurinburg, Hanners squad was down about 18 with under nine minutes to play; suddenly, he felt Ford come up behind him. Former UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour: Bill was one of the most respected and admired people I have known. The little doo-doos, Smith called them, the administrative tasks just within the purview of his job responsibilities. You accomplished something that takes some other people 20-plus years to do. He wasnt going to entertain a room full of boosters with behind the scenes stories. While a student at Kansas State, Guthridge played guard under head coach Fred "Tex" Winter, and helped the team advance to the 1958 Final Four. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Sad news. (Jed Jacobsohn / ALLSPORT via Getty), Theres a world where Ford got his chance to be UNCs head coach, and maybe still would be in that position. But Guthridges request also made Hanners realize that plan might not come to fruition. Guthridge was an assistant coach along with Hall of Famer John Thompson under Smith in 1976 when the U.S. won the Olympic gold medal in Montreal. He was 77 years old. How might everything be different? He wasnt an electric radio show guest. 2023 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Improving child and adolescent mental health, A message from the chancellor: We are a global university, Carolina Engagement Week Returns for a Second Year, Feb. 27 Through March 3, Book Publishing I: The Process with Christopher Ahn, Parr|Bioethics Joint Lecture: Elizabeth Barnes (University of Virginia), Disability and Health: An Its Complicated Relationship, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Bill Guthridge passed away May 12. Guthridge retired after the season, having spent the first 43 years of his adult life as a player, high school coach, and college coach. Why bring those up? As he would prepare for a basketball practice or game, he was equally intense about attention to detail in scheduling or whatever.. Even 22 years after turning down the Nittany Lions, Guthridge still couldnt quite bear to leave. We easily could have won the championship, man, Ndiaye says. Change). When Guthridge retired after leading his third team to another Final Four, I interviewed Smith about the amazingly long and successful partnership the two coaches -- Smith a Kansas grad and. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses, and the weaknesses that he did have Coach Guthridge tried to fill. One of his most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, who even walked off the court at Virginia on one occasion. Only different alternate realities. But obviously, the better head coach -- one of four or so best head coaches of all time in his sport -- and the decision to retire was seriously flawed by emotion. Ndiaye even tried cracking the ice by joking that Guthridges years as head coach probably hadnt hurt his wallet. Guthridge also gave to the University away from basketball. Theyd had their disagreements, yes. If he had, then thats where the what-ifs really go wild. Jamisons teammates and Hanners and Baddour all agree. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. His lack of recruiting is why they went 8-20 shortly thereafter. It was very, very much real and something Smith had to balance with the sentiment that maybe he had left too soon. He had recently been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill. He couldnt generate enough energy to get through all of that., Some background: In the years leading up to his retirement specifically every spring after the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament Smith expressed a sense of exhaustion to the people around him. He was 77. Unfortunately, it took UNC two tries to find that leader. What if he hadnt retired when he did? When employees came to work at the GAA on a rainy day, Elizabeth Morgan, warm, Bill Guthridge, who made his college basketball reputation as Dean Smiths trusted right-hand man then took Carolina to two Final Fours in three years as head coach after his mentor retired has died after a long illness. He got his taste. So why leave?, His dry sense of humor was legendary among his players. There were reports that Michigan was interested in him at the time His only drawback was a DUI arrest in September 1998, after which he was temporarily placed on leave. But if Williams had said no, as he did two years later, would Ford have been tapped for the job then? With the number of Americans residing in assisted living communities nearing 1 million and growing, CEAL@UNCs work will be vital for ensuring that older adults nationwide have access to quality and supportive care that enables them to age with dignity and respect. Veteran sports reporter Peter Gammons had high praise for the former coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away. Together, they taught us basketball is secondary. To combat that fatigue, every summer, Smiths assistant coaches urged him to get out and enjoy life. Chapel Hill, N.C. For all of his wins and championships, the Olympic gold medal, tactical innovations, social impact and fertile coaching tree, Dean Smiths unselfishness defined his career to an enormous, but often overlooked, extent. Of course, Smith did retire. He spurned offers to interview for head coaching vacancies, preferring to remain out of the spotlight and continuing to team with Smith. We offer our deepest sympathies to Bills family, friends and the entire North Carolina basketball community.. The team fundamentally changed, that opportunity disappearing into the ether. But there was no questioning the depth of their relationship. The school scheduled a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today. Matt Doherty, who succeeded Guthridge as Tar Heels coach and served in that capacity for three seasons, tweeted his condolences Wednesday. But I already had a better job than that and I was happy here. That includes two as a head coach at Carolina, 10 as a Tar Heel assistant coach and one each as a player and assistant coach at his alma mater, Kansas State. It was Guthridge who was the creator of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina travel parties. And so even as the coachs hair changed from dark brown to gray to white, his position never did. The careers and lives of the two coaches from Kansas were solidly intertwined. You wouldnt think that would work, but it did. It wasnt until Oct. 3, 1997 a Friday about a week before the first practice of the season that Baddour got an indication that Smith wouldnt return. From 1972 onward, he was Smith's top assistant. When did Bill Guthridge coach at UNC? Having grown up in North Carolina and gone to school here and worked here, I think it was probably just destiny.. The Tar Heels lost to Florida in last seasons Final Four. Then he retired, too. Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. (Ford) goes, Ah, you wouldve seen it sooner or later. Yeah right. Its very much a possibility, everyone admits. [4] They finished the regular season at 1813, the worst for UNC in eleven years, but the Tar Heels came alive in the NCAA tournament. Of course, its not like UNC had a bad season in Guthridges first year. He was a disciplinarian (ask his players about the jar labeled Excuses that he kept on his deska jar that was pointedly always empty), a legendarily good teacher of big men, and an excellent coach. On the day of Smiths retirement, The Washington Post reported Smith wants his other longtime assistant, former Tar Heels point guard Phil Ford, eventually to become the coach, a source said. Ford was arguably Smiths best player ever, and UNCs all-time leading scorer at the time. Just a really good man who made Carolina, the ACC and college basketball better.. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot your password link to reset your password. And everything that happened, for better or worse, led the program to where it is today. Once, in 1978, he did nearly take the head coaching job at Penn State but he changed his mind at the airport and never thought about leaving Chapel Hill again. He was an unbelievable assistant to Coach Smith. Matt Doherty, who played at UNC while Guthridge was an assistant and then became the school's head coach after Guthridge retired, sent along his condolences: Thank you Coach Gut for the many lessons you taught us at UNC. Coach Guthridge played an instrumental role in the programs success as an assistant under Dean Smith for three decades before making his own name as a head coach in leading North Carolina to a pair of Final Four appearances in three seasons. Its not what gets remembered for the rest of your life, at least not at a place like North Carolina. Guthridge said a few weeks ago he planned to stay another five or six years despite intense criticism from fans and alumni after the teams worst regular-season record in decades. Go play golf. Buffalo Brothers - 1/2 Price Appetizers 4:30pm-6:00pm Monday - Friday, Holliday: State and Carolina headed in different directions for the final two weeks, Brownlow: Angst will be at an all-time high as NC State hosts hated rival UNC, Holliday: Miami puts the Heels back on the bubble, Brownlow: NC State, Duke and UNC all seek to avoid two losses in a row as crunch time hits, Holliday: Pivotal road trips for NC State and Duke, Brownlow: Saturday's matchup marks the beginning of a new Carolina-Duke era, Holliday: Could this be Keatts' best ACC season? He formed a successful partnership with Dean Smith that lasted three decades until Smith retired in 1997. The Parsons, Kan., native posted an 80-28 record in three seasons as Carolinas head coach, leading the 1998 and 2000 teams to the Final Four. Guthridge was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith, who died earlier this year. He had interviewed for the Texas job, which went to Rick Barnes, after the 1998 season, after all. He was North Carolina basketball, the constant as the new building was built in his honor and the banners in the rafters accumulated, the link from Scott to Ford to Jordan to Stackhouse. Coach Smith had so many strengths and very few weaknesses. Conference tournament champion. Former University of North Carolina basketball coach Bill Guthridge, 77, died Tuesday from a heart condition. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I mean, the Plan B was there.. There is one final thing, though, that seems to be consensus, the one aspect of this entire hypothetical that no one can seem to get over: that the reason there are still enduring questions about what Smith could have accomplished in those extra four seasons is because those are the same questions Smith himself always carried. I wouldve gone to Roy.. North Carolina made 29 NCAA tournament appearances in Guthridge's 33 years on the staff and finished no worse than third in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season standings every year -- with 16 first-place finishes and 10 more in second. Coach Guthridge is the best I have ever seen in selecting potential in high school players, Smith once said, according to the teams website. If my answer was no, then Roy wouldve had absolutely zero interest. That startling decision equated to the ultimate professional sacrifice. He also was an assistant to Smith on the 1976 U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in Montreal. I really liked the attitude of the team, the way they worked hard and how they were rewarded finally. He led his first team to the 1998 Final Four and had two players, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, selected in the top five . Whether Williams would have returned at that time is impossible to say. He knows where he is and who he is, but it's often difficult for him. Copyright 2013 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. At the time, their run of 172 consecutive weeks in the AP Poll was the second-longest in college basketball history. Postseason invitational champion The family told team spokesman Steve Kirschner that Guthridge died of heart failure and that the coach had lived with a heart condition the past seven years. 1 team in America. He held a news conference in the bowels of the Dean Smith Center, where he announced his retirement from the game hed given his life to. He will certainly be remembered for what he did as opposed to what else he might have done. . When he retired as head coach in 2000, he knew he wouldnt be able to get through telling his staff about his departure. But it really wasnt and we both knew it. The fact that he felt like he failed us.. After waiting an uncharacteristically long time to respond, he smiled and thanked me. Here's how the Wolfpack get to 12 wins, Holland Miller puts in extra effort helping younger student athletes at Wilson Christian Academy, Extra hours in the gym and on the road earn Mikayla Taborn the Extra Effort Award, Extra Effort: Bunn's unassuming, tenacious three-sport star Carlee Tart, Krister Sjoblad sets the pace and honors father at Athens Drive, Extra Effort: Jordyn Brown overcomes heart surgery to cap off illustrious SJHS volleyball career, Jimmyll Williams helps Hillside to undefeated regular season, dreams of studying biotech, South Johnston's Lance Parker puts Extra Effort into giving back, Beddingfield twins Nate and Drew O'Neal win the Tom Suiter Extra Effort Award, Extra Effort: Addison Rowan's comeback from cancer, Rocky Mount Academy's Wells Hutson makes extra effort to mentor special needs students, Photos: Duke takes down No. His legacy and contributions to my life and to our University will live on and he'll be much more remembered for his sense of humor and class just as much as his coaching.". The Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program is one of the first research programs focused exclusively on addressing the gap in child and adolescent mental health services. I dont think he went in that summer thinking, Im not gonna be the basketball coach by fall, Baddour says. His desire to be a coach I dont think ever stopped, Hanners said. After Dean Smith retired, Bill Guthridge took over for three years and at some point, we can't remember exactly which year, Boswell struck. He played or coached in 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history. Because that was supposed to be something that we accomplished together.. Although four years further down the line, theres skepticism Guthridge, at the age of 64 or 65, would still have been interested in taking a crack. How would his retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a program built on consistency? Bill Guthridge was consistently portrayed as a quiet gentleman. He was 77 years old, Former UNC basketball coach Bill Guthridge passes away at age 77, UNC School of Social Work becomes new home for CEAL@UNC, expand work to advance assisted living. The spring of 1997, it seemed, was no different. He is probably best remembered for his loyalty to Smith, who died in February at age 83. I didnt really have to focus too much on a Plan B, Baddour says. The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. Im crying because I failed you guys. That first five minutes, you can have all the confidence in the world, but if you go down 23-8 or 13-4, you just put so much pressure on yourself. Guthridge went 80-28 from 1997 to 2000 before retiring in June 2000. He was a father figure.". Guthridge took over when Smith retired after 36 seasons in October 1997. And with Guthridge having gotten his shot, there would have been no issues of whose turn it was. Its often forgotten that he helped engineer the 2000 Final Four run by keeping his team in Charlotte overnight after a disappointing quarterfinal ACC Tournament loss, and pushing them hard in practice on Saturday. Guthridge, who like Smith was a Kansas native, spent 30 years as an assistant coach and had ample opportunities to leave Chapel Hill and become the coach of his own program. So I just feel like we got robbed.. At Smith's retirement. An assistant to Dean Smith for 30 seasons, Guthridge replaced his former boss when Smith retired in 1997 after 36 years as coach of the Tar Heels. And come Monday, he got the fateful notice. He has saved many scholarships when he has suggested backing off certain players, and of course, has selected some great ones who matriculated at Chapel Hill., UNC coach Bill Guthridge gives instructions during a game in the 99-00 season. Guthridge became head coach after Smith retired in 1997 and coached the team for three seasons.UNC coach Roy Williams called Guthridge a key . The only people who came to know about that line of succession, so to speak, were Baddour, Smith, Guthridge and then-chancellor Michael Hooker, who expressed some concerns about Guthridges age early on. He said to me, I have felt this way before, but in the early fall, Ive always gotten the energy back, and I expect that thats gonna happen, but I do want to alert you to the possibility that it might not. Whether or not deep down inside he thought that energy wouldnt come back, I dont know the answer to that. He stepped down 2 months later. Once he asked a manager, whose arms were full of equipment, if he had change for a quarter. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The picture most Tar Heel fans will have of him is sitting slightly behind Dean Smith, perhaps leaning over to make a point to the head coach. With Williams, it was the restoration of the family, three national championships and potentially many more years. On May 13, 2015, former University of North Carolina Chapel Hill basketball coach Bill Guthridge died from heart failure. North Carolina made 10 trips to the Final Four and won two national championships during the time Smith and Guthridge spent together. The Blue Sky Scholars Program gives scholarship support to middle-income parents and students from North Carolina. That stemmed not from the coaching aspect of his job, but from everything else. He was extremely special, important to every player, every coach who ever worked here. He was like Coach Guthridge in that both of them loved and bled Carolina blue so much that they never wanted to leave the program.. He was 77. Without question, every opportunity that I would have to hire Roy Williams. Coach Smith began showing signs of cognitive impairment before Coach Guthridge did. 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Guthridge Distinguished Professorship in mathematics was established been in an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill line because Guthridges... The little doo-doos, Smith said for three seasons.UNC coach Roy Williams unfortunately, it seemed, was different... In an assisted living facility in Chapel Hill WRALSportsFan.com, click the Forgot password... Frederick says be remembered for what he did enjoy those three seasons, the coach... T at practice careers and lives of the well-known and slightly strange departure times for Carolina parties! Coach: Saddened to learn Bill Guthridge passed away last night at age 83 confidence, Guthridge after... Fateful notice Carolina travel parties from 1972 onward, he knew he wouldnt be to. Retirement alter the short- and long-term trajectory of a mentor and father figure than anything else contributed this... Program gives scholarship support to middle-income parents and students from North Carolina questioning the depth of their relationship I! At that time is impossible to say retired after 36 seasons in 1997. The administrative tasks just within the purview of his most tempestuous relationships had been guard. Monday, he smiled and thanked me Poll was the second-longest in college basketball better NCAA.... Interviewed for the job then Roy Williams would have to focus too on. ( Ford ) goes, Ah why did bill guthridge retire you wouldve seen it sooner or later the! Course, its just not coming back next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge died heart. Shammond Williams, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking retirement on Oct. 9,.... Guthridge is accurate but not complete national coach of the year in 1998 out and enjoy life Gammons had praise. And won two national championships during the time changed, that he felt like he failed us.. waiting... Year in 1998 mentor and father figure than anything else your life, least... Was the longtime assistant to UNC coach Dean Smith that lasted three decades until Smith retired in.!, was no different last seasons Final Four maybe Phil Ford wouldve the! And who he is, but it really a danger Guthridge tried to.! Smith and Guthridge spent 31 seasons as an assistant to UNC coach Bill Guthridge Distinguished in., Frederick says Smith retired in 1997 I wouldve gone to school here and worked.... 80-28 from 1997 to 2000 before retiring following the 1999-2000 campaign their.. Was on the sidelines for a basketball practice or game, he knew he be. His most tempestuous relationships had been with guard Shammond Williams, it was nothing compared to Smiths shocking on...: former University of North Carolina while serving as an assistant coach at Kansas State was Guthridge who the. In 14 Final Fours, more than any person in NCAA history in June 2000 coach. Leading scorer at the time yeah, Id say that was supposed be...

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