North Carolina Coaches Recieve Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award 2011

College basketball is the sport that defines the Triangle. The loyalty runs deep for fans of NC State, UNC, and Duke, and the rivalry divides friends and families. But for one night in June, the three universities came together to honor three of their greatest coaches: the late K. Yow, Dean Smith, and Mike Krzyzewski.

And now from ABC 11, an Eyewitness News special: the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award.

Hello, I'm Mark Armstrong, and this is the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Located here at the North Carolina Museum of History. You know, recently, 3 members of this hall received another prestigious honor, the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award. It's one of the greater honors in the game, in fact, and it was, of course, named after the man who invented basketball more than 120 years ago.

Past recipients of the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award include such greats as John Wooden, Michael Jordan, and Roy Williams. Now the late K. Yow, Dean Smith, and Mike Krzyzewski have had their names added to this illustrious list. The Naismith International Basketball Foundation The NAISMAITH Good Sportsmanship Award to those furthering the values of fun, respect, and teamwork that Dr. James Naismith wrote into the game's original rules. Those original 13 rules are part of the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Trophy that stands 2.5 feet tall and weighs 70 pounds. On June 29th, Dr. Naismith's grandson, John Naismith, was at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium to present the award.

My granddad said he wanted to leave the world a better place for him having been here. He's done that without question. He still is. He still impacts the world through his game of basketball and what he did. He was truly a Renaissance man.

Throughout the evening, speakers talked about the 3 recipients the same way: their impact and influence extends well beyond the basketball court.

Kay met members of the underground Christian church while she was in the Soviet Union. When she came back to the United States to prepare for the World Championships, She spent as much time finding Russian Bibles and getting funding to smuggle them into the Soviet Union as she did coaching the team.

Coach Smith talked to us about life and about being an impact on life and doing something good in life. He never talked to me about being the first Black athlete. He talked to me about being a human being. Coach Smith taught us compassion. Basketball was secondary.

You can't talk about Mike Krzyzewski without saying the word leadership. He's written books on the subject. And so, from the playgrounds of Chicago to the grounds of West Point to the hardwoods of Cameron Indoor Stadium, Mike Krzyzewski is first and foremost a leader.

He is also a friend. Backstage, it was a rare sight: 3 of basketball's greatest coaches standing together, talking as old friends instead of fierce rivals. It was a night where the three schools came together to celebrate their love of the game that unites them.

The first coach honored that night, the late Kay Yow. Coming up next in our Eyewitness News special, we learn more about the impact Coach Yow had both on and off the court.

There is no right place to begin when talking about former NC State head women's basketball coach Coach Kay Yow. Her accomplishments extend beyond the basketball world, but it is within that world that she became so accomplished. In her 38 years as a college coach, she was both a pioneer of the women's game and one of its most beloved and admired personalities.

And welcome back to our Eyewitness News special, the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Awards. Coach Kay Yow was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame way back in 1989. Here you can see lots of memorabilia from her 34-year career at NC State. Of course, we also remember Coach Yow for her brave battle against breast cancer and efforts throughout that battle to raise money and raise awareness to fight the disease. Those are just a couple reasons why she's being honored by the Naismith Foundation.

But I can remember being on my couch in Charleston recently, a few years ago, and watching, watching Kay coach. And she made me cry. So I looked over at my wife, Carolyn, and I said, why is she coaching? And what she exemplifies— she exemplifies courage, incredible courage. She wouldn't quit coaching. She kept on going on. And she had tremendous faith. She was a woman of tremendous spirit. And, and she showed that before she passed away. And I'll always remember that day, watching that game, watching her coach, and I'll always remember that.

1,001 games she coached, 737 wins, 11 Sweet Sixteens, 20 NCAA appearances, 2002 Naismith and Shrinee, Jimmy V. ESB Perseverance winner, 10 Halls of Fame.

Woo-hoo!

The woman could coach. The WBCA was formed in 1981. Kay was coaching the World University Games. She was not there. A group of us got together, set up the rules, and decided that Kay should have the responsibility of hiring our chief executive officer since she wasn't there. 2 months later, she met Betty James at the Holiday Inn in Greenville, North Carolina, and convinced Betty to leave a tenure-track coaching and teaching position at James Madison to become the executive director for an association with no members, no office, no structure. And Betty James, for 30 years, has been with the WBCA. And Kay talked her into it.

I did want to tell you one story, and it's a story about sportsmanship. It was mentioned that I played for Kay, so she was not just my sister, she was my college coach, which is a little odd, but we were playing Wake Forest one time, and this is the sportsmanship story, and it's true. Norlin, I think you were coaching Wake Forest at that time, so when I was at Elon, playing Wake was a big deal, playing an ACC school. We used to play Carolina, and we played Wake, and on that given night, it was at Wake, and Norlin had a great player. She wasn't particularly tall, but she had a terrific jump shot, She had one bad habit though in her jump shot, and you've seen this before, a player that pulls the ball just a little too far back behind their head. And it's just a habit and it's hard to break, but nonetheless she was a great player. I was in the game, they rebounded the ball, they were on a fast break, they passed the ball to her, and I was following behind her. I was not I was not a great jumper. So, but my timing was pretty good. And as she got ready, she pulled up around the foul line to take a jump shot. And as would have it, she never saw me coming. And I was right behind her. I was just coming just as hard as I could, trying so hard to get there. And I did. And just as she held the ball up just a little bit behind her head, I got there. And my right hand just planted flat square on the ball. And it just, the force was so great, you know, she never knew I was there. It just knocked her to the floor. The shot never got off, just knocked her to the floor. And I was so proud of myself, you know. And so I turned to Kay on the bench and to get some, you know, some love. And when I did, this is what she did. She didn't give me any love. She said, "Help her up off the floor." And that's how you learn good sportsmanship. Somebody that you trust, your college coach, kind of puts you back in your place and lets you know, hey, you're not all that exactly. And that's an example of Kay. She wanted to win, and to be candid with you, I can't even remember if we won the game. She wanted to win, but she wanted to win in the right way. And she had such great respect for the two men being honored tonight and such an appreciation. And I just thank you on behalf of Kay and our family and the Wolfpack family. Thank you for honoring Kay.

When it comes to basketball innovation, there was simply nobody like Dean Smith. Ahead on our Eyewitness News special, tributes to Carolina's beloved and humble Coach Smith. What did he mean to his hundreds of players over the years?

Most of us saw only competition, but you, ever the teacher, saw beyond. You saw young men competing at a greater game, that of life. And there were other lessons. Early on, you made it clear that ability and character mattered most, not the color of one's skin.

And welcome back to our Eyewitness News special on the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Awards. You know, Carolina fans probably know these numbers by heart. Dean Smith spent 36 years at Carolina. A whole lot of winning went on too. 17 ACC regular season titles, 13 tournament titles, and of course, 2 national championships. He was National Coach of the Year 4 times, and get this, he is in 5 separate Hall of Fames. But all those achievements and accolades don't mean much to Coach Smith. He's always been much more about people. and that's why he's being honored by the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award.

You know, we sit up here and I know this is the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, but to me and to all the players that I am speaking for, Coach Smith was not our coach. He was our mentor. He was our standard by which every day that I get up, I ask myself, How would Coach Smith feel like what I'm doing today? Am I a good human being? Am I a good father? Am I a good neighbor? Am I compassionate? Lou Garrett might have been the luckiest person in the world, but we who have played for Coach Smith and we who have gone to University of North Carolina, we are the luckiest people in the world. Thank you.

Welcome, Coach Dean Smith. We also appreciate Coach Roy Williams being with us as Coach Smith accepts this award.

Coach, I look around and hear people say things, and I watch basketball, and I see so many things on every level of basketball. That people took from Coach Smith. That imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I see that in every area of basketball, in every country in the world, do things that Coach Smith brought. I am not an innovator, I'm a copier. And I copy almost everything the man ever did. And I feel like that's the smartest thing that I could ever do. It is. I look up here on the stage and some of the people in front, there's some great players here that could make all of us very good coaches, and Coach Smith would be the first one to point at those players. We have some fantastic coaches that I've loved getting to know men's coaches, women's coaches that I think just do a phenomenal job. And I think everyone has copied something that they got from Coach Smith. Everybody up here that played for Coach Smith, that came into contact with Coach Smith, benefited from it greatly. Coach Smith was a much deeper thinker than Roy Williams. Hubie Brown one time said, the dogs may bark, but the caravan rolls on. Coach Smith had something similar, but he did it much deeper than Hubie also. I think I may mispronounce this philosopher's name, Kierkegaard, said that life can be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. Both of those, and I interpret that you have to move on regardless of what adversity you have. You have to move on. But I think the one person that I cannot do that with is Coach Dean Smith, because I have to remember everything that he gave me. I have to remember everything that he gave these players up here. I have to remember everything that he gave— I can barely see, but some of his children sitting down here. So life can be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. But I can't do that about Coach Dean Smith. The Naismith Family Foundation and the North Carolina Hall of Fame, I thank you for having this kind of award. I'm very humbled, and I hope that the former players up here will be okay if I say this on their behalf, on all of our behalf, for being able to be in contact with Coach Smith and what he has meant to our lives. And I would just say one thing: K. Yow, Mike Krzyzewski, off the charts. But I didn't have that relationship with them, but I can say representing North Carolina basketball and his family. Coach Smith, I love you.

It was truly an emotional evening that night, not just for Tar Heel fans but for everyone in Memorial Auditorium. As we all know, for 17 years the biggest rival Dean Smith had was just around the corner at Duke University. and his name was Mike Kruszewski. Up next in our Eyewitness News special, tributes to Coach K. How basketball was just one of the things he taught his players over the years.

Well, he was the greatest motivator I've ever been around. He's amazing the way he knows how to relate to the player. And for me, it might not have It might not always be yelling at me, it might not always be just talking to me. He would use different tactics to motivate me. It's just unlike anything I've ever seen, and that's what makes him the best.

Okay, side out. Go regular, but make it 3/4 court.

And welcome back to our Eyewitness News special on the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Awards. You know, in November, a major event will go down. That's when Mike Krzyzewski will pass his mentor Bobby Knight and become the all-time winningest Division I basketball as a basketball coach. It's just the latest, yes the greatest, but just the latest in a long line of accomplishments for K. 12 ACC regular season titles, 13 tournament championships, and yes, 4 big national championships. All that winning has been for one big reason, Coach K's leadership.

It's my honor to stand in front of you to represent Duke University and the school community Duke basketball, and most especially the guys who played for Coach K. I cannot possibly put into words all that he has meant and the level which he has impacted our lives. So I thought the best idea was a simple thank you. Coach K, thank you for always giving your best and demanding we do the same. Thank you for allowing your family to become ours. Thank you for helping us learn how to win on the court and in life, but more importantly, teaching us there's a right way to do it. Thank you for helping us in times of need, advising us in times of uncertainty, and sharing with us in times of joy. Thank you for telling us as young men how important it was to get on the right bus and then welcoming us onto yours. It has taken us on the journey of a lifetime. So on behalf of all the guys that you've coached, you've led, you've befriended, and you've loved, Congratulations on this amazing night and this unforgettable honor. Thank you very much.

Although Dr. Naismith wrote the rules of the game, he did not give the game boundaries. This is a game that has no boundaries. It's planted the seeds that tore down some of the anger and the hate that divided our country when we were black and white, not America. There's no game in the world that has integrated a society better than our game of basketball. It's given women an opportunity to say, "Hey, I can do it too." And a lot of times a lot better. It's because my girls are in the audience. I'm going to get killed if I don't say that. It also has no boundaries, although it took over our whole country. It's crossed oceans. John said it's been in over 230 countries around the world. But the seeds of the game and Dr. Naismith, a lot of people say, I wonder what he would say if he looked at the game today. I think he knew the game would be like it is today. Because he planted a lot of seeds everywhere, the game, but the best seeds were planted here in the Triangle. In addition to planting the seeds that make this place the best place, somehow for all three of us who are honored tonight, He also planted a seed of patriotism. As unique as this might be to have 3 institutions and 3 coaches being honored, you have 3 coaches who have won an Olympic Games. You know, I mean, I just— John, I don't— I just— it's not going to happen, man. You know, it's not going to happen anywhere else. What I would say to Jan is that it took you a while to pick the best home, but now you have it in our region, the Triangle, with State, Carolina, and Duke. We'll hug you, and we're never going to let you go. So welcome home. Thank you.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach Dean Smith, and the late Coach K. Yow have combined to win more than 2,500 games in their long and legendary careers. They have inspired hundreds of players and countless thousands of fans along the way. And now they have one of the most prestigious awards in basketball to their credit. They are a shining example that coaching is about so much more than just X's and O's, and their legacies will teach future generations about the true meaning of good sportsmanship. Thank you for joining us for our Eyewitness News special on the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Awards. For the rest of the Eyewitness News team, I'm Mark Armstrong.

Have a great night.