These Dean Smith quotes go beyond the basketball court. Carolina’s legendary coach dared to speak up on a variety of topics.
Take this opportunity to learn from the old North Carolina college basketball coach as he provided some gems throughout his life. Read on.
Best Dean Smith Quotes
- Play hard. Play smart. Play together.
- I always mean what I say, but I don’t always say what I’m thinking.
- A leader’s job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers’ sense of commitment.
- What to do with a mistake–recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.
- The coach’s job is to be a part servant in helping each player reach his goals within the team concept.
- Always have your players go and pick up the guy who draws the charge.
- To me, the players got the wins, and I got the losses.
- There is a point in every contest when sitting on the sidelines is not an option.
- 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.
- 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.
- Basketball is a team game. But that doesn’t mean all five players should have the same amount of shots.
Good Dean Smith Quotes
- I wasn’t as critical during games as I was at practice. Players needed confidence during games more than criticism.
- A lion never roars after a kill.
- The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring.
- I do believe in praising that which deserves to be praised.
- Our teachers at the public school level are the most underpaid for the importance of their job in America.
- Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.
- As soon as you try to describe a close friendship, it loses something.”
- There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does.
- I would never recruit a player who yells at his teammates, disrespects his high school coach, or scores 33 points a game and his team goes 10-10.
On Leadership
- The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring.
- You should just do the right thing.
- Caring for one another and building relationships should be the most important goal, no matter what vocation you are in.
- Good people are happy when something good happens to someone else.
- There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does.
- The truly free person in society is a disciplined person.
- A leader’s job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers’ sense of commitment.
- One player’s selfish attitude can poison a locker room and make it hard, if not impossible, to establish teamwork.
- There is a point in every contest when sitting on the sidelines is not an option.
- Michael, if you can’t pass, you can’t play.
- Basketball is a team game. But that doesn’t mean all five players should have the same amount of shots.
- A leader’s job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers’ sense of commitment.
Funny Dean Smith Quotations
- The best way to build team chemistry is the way Rupp used to, substitute when they fouled out.
- I know a lawyer who’d love to retire and be an assistant coach. I mean, it’s fun.
- If you make every game a life-and-death proposition, you’re going to have problems. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot.
- I only use statistics to reinforce what I already think, or if it’s something unusual.
Dean Smith on Coaching
- I do believe in praising that which deserves to be praised.
- I believe a demanding teacher should treat each player as an important part of the team, which, of course, he is.
- The least skilled player received the same attention from me as the best player.
- I enjoy basketball. I enjoy coaching basketball. It’s the out-of-season stuff I didn’t handle well.
- 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.
- Everyone on the bench stands for the man coming out of the game.
- Always have your players go and pick up the guy who draws the charge.
- Only praise behavior that you want to be repeated. Never use false praise.
- I was very demanding, but the role of a head coach is that of a demanding teacher.
- Basketball, more than any other sport, is a team game…about the thousands of small, unselfish acts, and the sacrifices on the part of the players that result in team building.
Managing the Game
- Always have your players go and pick up the guy who draws the charge.
- You should just do the right thing.
- You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball.
- The key statistic is still to get to the foul line.
- 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.
- Basketball is a team game. But that doesn’t mean all five players should have the same amount of shots.
Dean Smith and a Civil Rights Legacy at ESPN
By Mike O’Halloran
Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories
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