Dean Smith's Death Impacts Former Blackhawk Standout

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- The sports world lost a coaching legend this weekend with the passing of legendary North Carolina men's basketball coach Dean Smith.

Smith, who guided the Tar Heels to national titles in 1982 and 1993, was 83 years old. He mentored the likes of Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse, among others, over his 36-year run coaching the Tar Heels from 1961 to 1997.

Former Blackhawk High School star Dante Calabria played on Smith's 1993 championship team as a freshman and became one of the NCAA's top long-range shooters, also a key contributor on North Carolina's 1995 Final Four team. Calabria tweeting Sunday, simply, "Thank you Coach Smith."

Calabria also reminisced in Mike DeCourcy's story in the Sporting News, saying, "Everyone always hears and sees the basketball stuff coach did, but that's only a fraction of what he did for us as players and for people in general. If it was one of his ex-players, he had time for you."

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