June 27, 2007

Former University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith was among 20 members of the 2007 class of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame, FIBA announced this month. Other American inductees included men's player Bill Russell and women's player Ann Meyers.

According to FIBA, the primary criterion for selection into the FIBA Hall of Fame is "outstanding achievement, at the international level, to the development and status of the sport of basketball." Smith coached the 1976 United States Olympic team to a gold medal in Montreal.

Smith directed the U.S. to a 7-0 record and the gold medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. In his 36 years (1961-62 to 1996-97) as the leader of the Tar Heels, Smith coached Carolina to 11 Final Fours, the 1982 and 1993 NCAA championships, 17 ACC regular season championships and 13 ACC Tournament titles.

Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983 and the North Carolina Hall of Fame in 1981, Smith's teams had a record of 879-254 for a 77.6 winning percentage. At the time of his retirement, his teams had won more games than those of any other Division I men's college basketball coach in history. More than 96 percent of Smith's lettermen graduated.