Dean Smith Quotes & Sayings

The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring. — Dean Smith

As soon as you try to describe a close friendship, it loses something. — Dean Smith

The flash of rain, the shining rainbow riding completely around the plane, the lift over mountain ridges, the steady, pure air at dawn take-offs ... It was so alive and rich a life that any other conceivable choice seemed dull, prosaic, and humdrum. — Dean Smith

One player's selfish attitude can poison a locker room and make it hard, if not impossible, to establish team work — Dean Smith

I'd never get elected if people in North Carolina realized how liberal I am. — Dean Smith

I've always believed in quickness over strength and size. — Dean Smith

I think the real free person in society is one that's disciplined. It's the one that can choose; that is the free one. — Dean Smith

You should just do the right thing. — Dean Smith

The real issue is not if a crossing is put in, but when. It would be negligent on the part of Union Pacific and the California Public Utilities Commission to not address the problem. — Dean Smith

A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment. — Dean Smith

The truly free person in society is a disciplined person. — Dean Smith

I always mean what I say, but I don't always say what I'm thinking. — Dean Smith

The best way to stop the problem of agents would be for the NCAA to come down hard and suspend a school for two years if it finds players with agents on campus. — Dean Smith

What do do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. — Dean Smith

A lion never roars after a kill. — Dean Smith

Basketball is a team game. But that doesn't mean all five players should have the same amount of shots. — Dean Smith

Any old coach will say the game was meant for finesse. It's a beautiful game, especially on television. — Dean Smith

You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball. — Dean Smith

Always have your players go and pick-up the guy who draws the charge. — Dean Smith

There is a point in every contest when sitting on the sidelines is not an option. — Dean Smith

The coach's job is to be part servant in helping each player reach his goals within the team concept. — Dean Smith

I would never recruit a player who yells at his teammates, disrespected his high school coach, or scores 33 points a game and his team goes 10-10. — Dean Smith

If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you'll die a lot of times. — Dean Smith

The death penalty makes us all murderers. — Dean Smith

The focus should be on the players. I'm here a long time. You can call me in the summer. Our seniors will be gone. — Dean Smith

The key statistic is still to get to the foul line. — Dean Smith

Given the fact that we are in a capitalist society, we still do not want to overlook not only what a corporation produces and its profitability but also how it impacts the environment, touches human life and whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person. — Dean Smith

If you make every game a life-and-death thing, you're going to have problems. You'll be dead a lot. — Dean Smith

If you do what we ask you to do, the victories will belong to you, and the losses to me. — Dean Smith

Only praise behavior that you want to be repeated. Never use false praise. — Dean Smith

I enjoy basketball. I enjoy coaching basketball. It's the out-of-season stuff I didn't handle well. — Dean Smith

Praise behaviour that you want repeated — Dean Smith

I'd like to see the high schools put in a rule that limits recruitable athletes from playing on teams outside a 100-mile radius from their home or school. — Dean Smith

Michael, if you can't pass, you can't play. — Dean Smith

You should never be proud of doing the right thing. You should just do it. — Dean Smith

I wasn't as critical during games as I was at practice. Players needed confidence during games more than criticism. — Dean Smith

I just think we shouldn't get into counting coaches' records. I've never been for that ... but I know that's just American society. — Dean Smith

Over coaching is the worst thing you can do to a player. — Dean Smith

You can't teach court savvy — Dean Smith

The presidents of colleges have to have some courage to step forward. You can't limit alcohol in college sports, you have to get rid of it. — Dean Smith

Play hard. Play smart. Play together. — Dean Smith

I do believe in praising that which deserves to be praised. — Dean Smith

Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat. — Dean Smith

Good people are happy when something good happens to someone else. — Dean Smith

Our teachers at the public school level are the most underpaid for the importance of their job in America. — Dean Smith

I only use statistics to reinforce what I already think, or if it's something unusual. — Dean Smith

Everyone on the bench stands for the man coming out of the game. — Dean Smith

Basketball, more than any other sport, is a team game ... about the thousands of small, unselfish acts, the sacrifices on the part of the players that result in team building. — Dean Smith

The most important thing is team morale. — Dean Smith

There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does — Dean Smith

I know a lawyer who'd love to retire and be an assistant coach. I mean, it's fun. — Dean Smith

The best way to build team chemistry is the way Rupp used to substitute, when they fouled out. — Dean Smith