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Dean Smith story from Kenny Smith has the former UNC basketball coach trending

monica holland, the fayetteville observer
·2 min read
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Legendary UNC basketball coach Dean Smith was trending on Twitter on Saturday after a former player's story about him sending an assistant coach to Africa to learn about an athlete's homeland culture went viral.

Kenny Smith, who played point guard for the Tar Heels from 1983-87, told NBA veterans Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their "All the Smoke" weekly podcast from the Showtime network the story that gained traction on social media after airing Thursday.

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According to Kenny Smith, now an analyst on the "NBA on TNT," after a conversation with Makhtar N'Diaye, who played for UNC from 1996-98, Dean Smith realized that cultural differences with the Senegal-born athlete were impacting his communication with the coaching staff.

The next day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn't at practice. "Mak said he gets this call from his mom: 'Mak, there's this man here in Africa, says he's your coach,' " Kenny Smith said on the podcast. Apparently, Dean Smith had sent Guthridge across the ocean to learn more about N'Diaye's culture.

You can see the full story on Showtime's web page here.

University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith, right, has a few words with player Kenny Smith, left, during NCAA Practice at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford on Wednesday, March 19, 1987. (AP Photo/Wilbur Funches)
University of North Carolina head coach Dean Smith, right, has a few words with player Kenny Smith, left, during NCAA Practice at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford on Wednesday, March 19, 1987. (AP Photo/Wilbur Funches)

N'Diaye played in two Final Fours with the Tar Heels after transferring from Michigan and sitting out the 1995-96 season. He shared the roster with UNC greatsVince Carter, Ed Cota, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, among others.

UNC fell to Arizona, 66-58, in their 1997 national semifinal game in Indianapolis. In Guthridge's first year as head coach after Dean Smith's retirement, UNC went to a second straight national semifinal but lost to Utah, 65-59, in San Antonio.

N'Diaye went on to become the first Senegalese player in the NBA. After going undrafted, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound N'Diaye signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies and played in four games.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Dean Smith trending after UNC basketball's Kenny Smith shares story