Twenty one years and Dean Smith couldn’t catch a break. He had checked every other box and then some. Had to fight to hold onto his job? Check. He’d been hung in effigy. Had he been a great ambassador for the university? Check. He had helped desegregate Chapel Hill and recruited the great Charlie Scott. Had he proven himself a winner? Check. He had led Team USA to Olympic glory. Was he an influential tactician? A peerless leader of men? An icon of the sport? Check, check, and check.
However, he hadn’t won the big one. Six trips to the Final Four and six defeats.