ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory ordered flags across the state to be lowered to half-staff in honor of former UNC basketball Head Coach Dean Smith.
Smith passed away on Feb. 7 at 83.
Two former players say Smith never wanted attention or to have the spotlight shine on him.
Growing up in North Carolina, David May says he saw Dean Smith as a godlike figure. May fulfilled his dream suiting up for Smith's Tar Heels. Among his collection of UNC memorabilia, one item in particular shows Dean Smith's character: a letter congratulating him on the birth of his daughter -- but it's not addressed to David.
"He wrote it to the baby. Dear Emma," May read.
May said he learned many life lessons from his former coach. He recalls the time Smith took the team - with no explanation - to shoot hoops at a prison. May was left to figure out the lesson.
"Regardless of who you were, you were all equal and important in God's eyes. He was, like I said, that was the way he taught," May said.
May said Smith taught by example. In the late '60s, Dean Smith recruited the school's first black basketball player, Charlie Scott. Asheville dentist Bill Chambers played with Scott.
"Coach Smith was always like whether you were the starter, or the last guy on the bench, everybody should be treated as equally as possible," Chambers said.
Chambers called Smith one of the game's great innovators, which included the tactic of making his players sprint to the foul line.
"He wanted the other team to psychologically get the thought process that we never got tired," Chambers said.
Despite the fact Smith had more than the 879 wins and two national championships, it's the man off the court the former players remember.
Smith coached the Tar Heels from 1962-1997.
PHOTO: Former UNC Men's Basketball Coach Dean Smith at the 1997 Eastern Regionals in Syracuse
1997
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