Good thing he didn't listen to his mother
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...-a-fan-of-duke
Mamas, don't let your sons grow up to be tar heels. (Waylon Jennings probably could make a good song out of that)
I was walking through the Quad one night with a classmate who had gone to Laettner's high school in Buffalo. I believe it was the Fall of 1987 (CL's senior year of h.s.; might've been spring '87 but believe it was the fall). My friend was a Duke sophomore at the time, so two years older than Laettner, and knew him somewhat. As I recall it, we were not aware ahead of time that CL was even visiting Duke that weekend -- not the recruiting hype and coverage there is today. As we were walking, various crowds were out partying, and my friend just happened to spot Laettner and said, 'hey, there's Christian, he goes to my high school.' So, we went up to talk to him and say hello. CL said something to the effect that he was having a great time visiting and really loved Duke. He said, "I'm supposed to still go visit UNC, but I don't know" ... indicating that he was really in love with Duke at that moment and the decision seemingly made.
It's startling to think that my greatest hero could have easily been my worst enemy.
"Something in my vicinity is Carolina blue and this offends me." - HPR
If he had gone to UNC the big question is would Dukes still be the Duke that we know today? There were good teams before him and after him, but how many NCAA titles would we have? Would we have any? It is something to think about.
I really was trying to say that we should be grateful for what he means to Duke Basketball. Widely regarded as one of the greatest college ball players of all time we are lucky he decided to play for Duke. That is all. We should appreciate what he did. He helped us get to where we are today and that should not be overlooked! That is what I am trying to say that is all.
I heard Laettner's mom tell a funny story once about her son's official visit to UNC.
It seems that Dean was showing them Granville Towers, the hotel/dorm where most of the basketball players lived. She said they were riding the elevator up when she said she asked Dean about the Duke-UNC rivalry.
According to her, Dean was just telling her that it was all a creation of the media and between fans, that the players and coaches at the two schools had the greatest respect for each other.
At that moment, she said, the elevator door opened and right across the hall was the door to JR Reid's room -- and it was plastered with &^$ Duke signs and posters -- mostly obscene and more anti-Duke stuff than pro-UNC stuff.
Of course, it was during Christian's freshman year that the always classy (rolls eyes) Dean publically trashed the kid's SAT scores.
I got ya. No worries.
My brain is too small to ponder infinite possibilities, ESPECIALLY when they are not pleasure producing possibilities. Not an indulgence for me.
I don't think its possible to overstate what Laettner means to Duke. Aside from the School Color and K as constants; Laettners' shot is on the intro for like 500 games a year (thats an exaggeration, I have no idea how many times it on) but the point carries. To a lot of folks he is still the face of Duke players just by virtue of that play.
I suppose we could also say that the other 2 stars from those back-to-back national champions, Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley, were "almost" Tar Heels, too. Each grew up as a UNC fan, and Calvin Hill was friendly with Dean.
I love the story of Dean Smith's visit to the Hill home. This was in the fall of Grant's senior year and he was down to basically Duke and UNC. The Hills had a nice dinner at home when Smith visited. Grant remarked something to the effect that..."as he watched Dean Smith's car pull out of the driveway, he realized he would be going to Duke University."
Coach K got the good news shortly thereafter.
Once again, you men (and the espn fellows) may have missed something; ever hear of reverse psychology?!
When all else fails, a hard-headed man must be subjected to the all powerful tears of his mother...at least until he gets married
From Wikipedia:
In 1964, Smith joined a local pastor and a black North Carolina theology student to integrate The Pines, a Chapel Hill restaurant. He also integrated the Tar Heels basketball team by recruiting Charlie Scott as the university's first black scholarship athlete. In 1965, Smith helped Howard Lee, a black graduate student at North Carolina, purchase a home in an all-white neighborhood.
And the fact that he is seemingly universally loved by his players also entitles him to respect.
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That said, to any non-Tarheel he appeared to think he walked on water and is rightfully held with disdain as a basketball coach. But his leadership when compared with Roy is ... well you can't mention them in the same sentence and not giggle.
I've had a bit more respect for Dean as K heads into the home stretch of his coaching career, because I see the parallels between the two. Dean defined ACC basketball much the K has for almost 20 years. As such there is a lot inferred in their motives and actions and the way they handle things. The SAT thing is a great example. UNC fans defend Deans actions as stepping up to defend JR Reid. You'd have to be a bit naive to deny there aren't any racial connotations in a sign that says "JR can't Reid" and given the Schnoze's civil rights background, it makes sense that he'd address it. If he can take a bit of a shot at two Duke kids that spurned UNC, well that's Dean Smith for you. Like the Laettner stomp, its one of the things thats been lionized over the years as some huge controversial breech of ethics, but I remember it when it happened. Dean wasn't really right to do it, K certainly took issue with it, but it wasn't that poorly perceived at the time. In this day and age, who knows how it would be viewed.
Oh, Dean had his flaws and annoying ways. He really was a master at back-handed compliments, subtle digs, pushing the edge with officials, over-publicizing his team's injuries, and whining about anything that seemed to go in the opponent's favor (particularly Duke).
But compared to Roy:
Dean would have done a better job with a sub-par group like the 2009-10 team
Dean would not have thrown his own players under the bus
Dean actually liked his team's fans
Dean basically had more style than Roy
I liken the changing of the guard at UNC to one of your favorite plays or television series where the understudy is called on to play the role of the villain. You've grown so used to hating that particular villainous character that the understudy is a disappointment. Ole Roy is just not up to the standards of El-Deano.
I couldn't figure out if your were looking to tout Smith's virtues or assume some moral hi-ground on the topic of race. I tend to think that Smith and UNC gets too much credit for this when you consider some of UNC's past history with race issues.
S0me dates of interest:
1796, 1869-1870, 1871, 1875, 1913, 1938, 1938, 1951, 1955, 1963, *1964, 1967, 1969, 1980, 1996...
Odd that the items you tout as success are left off the list.
*With regards to the 1964 note: The sit-ins its entirely possible no mention of Smith or the restaurant but no doubt Smith contributed to the traffic jam.