Legendary UNC basketball mentor Dean Smith was trending on Twitter on Saturday right after a previous player’s story about him sending an assistant mentor to Africa to study about an athlete’s homeland culture went viral.
Kenny Smith, who played place guard for the Tar Heels from 1983-87, informed NBA veterans Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on their “All the Smoke” weekly podcast from the Showtime community the story that received 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 discussion with Makhtar N’Diaye, who performed for UNC from 1996-98, Dean Smith realized that cultural differences with the Senegal-born athlete were being impacting his interaction with the coaching staff members.
The up coming working day, Kenny Smith said, assistant coach Bill Guthridge wasn’t at exercise. “Mak reported he will get this call from his mom: ‘Mak, there’s this guy listed here in Africa, states he is your mentor,’ ” Kenny Smith mentioned on the podcast. Apparently, Dean Smith had sent Guthridge across the ocean to understand more about N’Diaye’s culture.
You can see the complete tale on Showtime’s internet website page in this article.
N’Diaye played in two Ultimate Fours with the Tar Heels soon after transferring from Michigan and sitting down out the 1995-96 period. He shared the roster with UNC greatsVince Carter, Ed Cota, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, between other people.
UNC fell to Arizona, 66-58, in their 1997 national semifinal recreation in Indianapolis. In Guthridge’s to start with 12 months as head mentor following Dean Smith’s retirement, UNC went to a second straight countrywide semifinal but dropped to Utah, 65-59, in San Antonio.
N’Diaye went on to turn into the first Senegalese player in the NBA. Following likely undrafted, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound N’Diaye signed with the Vancouver Grizzlies and performed in 4 games.
This post at first appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Dean Smith trending soon after UNC basketball’s Kenny Smith shares story
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