But at this moment in time they are standing together on the same plateau of victories, 879 apiece. They have more wins than Hey Jude has na-na-nas…. looped several times. Smith and K are tied for 2nd on that long list of prestigious coaches, only trailing Bobby Knight.
Their styles lack the similarities that basketball purists envy; the 2 styles could be said as bluntly as ‘Night and Day’.
Smith had Michael Jordan, K had Christian Laettner. Smith had James Worthy, K had Bobby Hurley. K had Grant Hill, Smith had Vince Carter. K had JJ Redick, Smith had Raymond Felton. And the list goes on and on. Yet they are practically identical in the statistical categories… 11 Final Fours, ACC Titles (Smith 13, K 12) and 1 Olympic Medal each.
Both transformed the game and there is a large disagreement over who the better coach is. And undoubtedly this debate will go on forever. I guess it’s just a depends on which shade of blue you prefer.
[With the probable win tonight against UNC-Greensboro Coach K will only be ‘23’ wins from being the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history… Interesting.]
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