On March 15, 1997 Adolph Rupp Wins
1997: Early in his career at North Carolina, Dean Smith was hung in effigy. At today’s NCAA tournament game, Dean goes to the head of the class.
With 19 former letter-winners in attendance in Winston-Salem, N.C., Smith passes fellow Kansas alum Adolph Rupp, the legendary Kentucky coach, to become college basketball’s all-time leader in coaching victories with victory No. 877, a 73-56 win over Colorado.
It is ironic that one coach (Rupp) was known for his racist attitude and the other (Smith) for opening doors for African-Americans.
More than the record, Smith says he is prouder that of the some 200 players who have earned varsity letters since he arrived in Chapel Hill in 1961 that “98 percent of them have graduated and almost half have gone on to some kind of graduate school.”
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