There are times when you wonder if the hubbub about the Carolina Family is a little overblown. People roll their eyes when they hear of how tight-knit the players in the program are, and it’s something that fans of the program are quick to tout. It’s especially something they will scream about when a certain school down the road had co-opted the family idea with a neat marketing hashtag.
But there are anecdotes that back up just what being in the Carolina Family meant and why players were loyal to the coaches and vice versa. We know of Dean Smith bequeathing a check to all of his former players in order to have a meal on him, how he'd quickly stand up in the media any time he felt his players were being disrespected, and Roy taking the time to go to see his former players play in the NBA when the schedule allowed him.