CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Letters and checks for $200 were sent to 180 players who played for Dean Smith, according to a trustee for Smith’s estate.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill coach died Feb. 7 at the age of 83.
Smith was the head coach of the Tar Heels from 1961-1997, retiring with 879 wins and two national championships.
The letter was sent Monday to all former basketball lettermen who played for Smith.
A message sent with the checks read: "Each player was important and special to Coach Smith, and when he prepared his estate, Coach Smith wanted to reach out to each of his lettermen."
"I opened it up last night," said former Charlotte mayor and Tar Heel basketball player Richard Vinroot. "I had no idea."
Vinroot played for Smith in the 1960s.
He received his letter along with the check for $200 that instructed Vinroot to "enjoy a dinner out, compliments of Coach Dean Smith.”
“That is classic Coach Smith,” Vinroot said. “He was the best of the best, and he loved his players.”
Vinroot plans to give his money back to Smith's church in Chapel Hill.
Matt Doherty also got the letter.
“I looked at it, I looked at my wife and said, ‘This is amazing,’” Doherty said.
He played for Smith in the 1980s and even coached the Tar Heels himself from 2000 to 2003.
“To do that was very touching, after his passing,” Doherty said. “He had to plan this a long time ago.”
It was a plan by a coach who became a legend among legends and left the world with one final bit of advice to his players still listening.
“He was a better man than he was coach,” Vinroot said. “And he was the greatest coach, in my mind, who ever lived.”
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