My Carolina basketball career was one of continuous learning, lasting throughout my five years there. My learning curve certainly was a little steeper in my first year in the program, but the process never stopped. From the day I arrived on campus from my Alabama home, I learned the qualities and fundamentals it takes to succeed in basketball. As I look back on my UNC career, I realized that I grew up while in the program and learned any things that are helping me get through life without basketball.
While we did watch tapes of our games and practices at Carolina, I think we spend must less time on that activity than players at others schools. Our film sessions were brief, direct, and to the point. Coach Smith believe in short, effective viewing sessions which he thought were the best way for him to teach and for us to learn. It took only one instance of his throwing a player out of a meeting for not correct identifying something on tape to get every one's rapt attention.
Included in the practice plans were the offensive and defensive emphases of the day. As you know by now, players were required to recite those from memory if called upon by Coach Smith. The entire team ran sprints if the recitation wasn't accurate.
You've also read about Coach's decision to give us a Thought for the Day to learn and recite. It was a key learning tool for us that had nothing to do with basketball. Some of those are still fresh in my mind. This was one method that Coach used to teach us, and it certainly help keep basketball in perspective. As I look back now, I see that a secondary benefit was that it relieved the pressure on us that playing basketball at this level could bring. As much as basketball was Coach Smith's passion, he was first and foremost a great teacher whose top priority was not to win but to mold his players into good citizens. He wanted us prepared for the day we would wake up and basketball would no longer be a part of our lives.
