Dean Smith, whose legacy goes far beyond his massive win total, has died at the age of 83.
Smith coached the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina (UNC) - Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1997. He is the Tar Heels' all-time leader in coaching victories and trails only Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Bobby Knight throughout all of Division I men's college basketball.
UNC announced Smith's death Sunday, confirming the legendary coach had died Saturday evening. They also published several tweets from media personalities, former athletes and more who honored Smith.
"Coach Dean Smith passed away peacefully the evening of February 7 at his home in Chapel Hill, and surrounded by his wife and five children," the Smith family said in a statement. "We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you."
Michael Jordan played for Smith at UNC from 1981 to 1984. Easily UNC's greatest player, Jordan is also widely accepted as the greatest basketball player in NBA history, but he credited Smith as a "mentor, teacher [and a] second father."
"Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life," Jordan said. "My heart goes out to Linnea and their kids. We've lost a great man who had an incredible impact on his players, his staff and the entire UNC family."
A noted college basketball fan, President Barack Obama released a statement on Smith's death. A Chicago native, Obama was keen to thank the coach for his role in Jordan's development.
"But more importantly, Coach Smith showed us something that I've seen again and again on the court - that basketball can tell us a lot more about who you are than a jumpshot alone ever could," the President said. "He graduated more than 96 percent of his players and taught his teams to point to the teammate who passed them the ball after a basket. He pushed forward the Civil Rights movement, recruiting the first black scholarship athlete to North Carolina and helping to integrate a restaurant and a neighborhood in Chapel Hill. And in his final years, Coach Smith showed us how to fight an illness with courage and dignity. For all of that, I couldn't have been prouder to honor Coach Smith with Medal of Freedom in 2013."
Smith's legacy also goes beyond rivalry lines, as Krzyzewski, Duke's head coach, released a statement of his own. From 1980 to 1997, Krzyzewski and Smith coached head-to-head in one of the greatest basketball rivalries ever.
Said Krzyzewski, "We have lost a man who cannot be replaced."
Roy Williams, who took over at UNC in 2003, spoke on behalf of the current team in regards to Smith, ESPN reported.
"I'd like to say on behalf of all our players and coaches, past and present, that Dean Smith was the perfect picture of what a college basketball coach should have been," Williams said in a statement. "We love him, and we will miss him."