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
Mike O’Halloran founded Sports Feel Good Stories in 2009. He co-authored four trivia books for kids under the Smart Attack line. Mike coached basketball for 15 seasons, taught tennis, and has written four books on basketball coaching. He has been a contributing writer for USA Football, the youth arm of the NFL. Mike is the founder of the Fantasy Football Team Names Hall of Fame.
Overtime
You’re on the Dean Smith Quotes page.
You might like:
