The scene is enough to stir memories and nostalgia, these two men, sharing an office wall, their longtime secretary taking calls, their walls filled with reminders of the past – pictures and paintings, plaques.
Which makes the reality all the more agonizing, that Smith can’t remember those times.
Coach Gut, there til the end.
I was lucky enough to meet Jordan and Perkins and Brad Daugherty after an NCAA tourney game in GSO in 1983. Over the years I always wanted to go to Coach Smith's office after he retired and just shake his hand and say thanks. I should have done that.
Posted by: Account Deleted | Apr 02, 2012 at 12:01 PM
Five or six years ago I was at the Dean Dome for a summer high school basketball camp. I was trying to make my way from the main arena to the practice court and was running late. I unknowingly got off the elevator on the wrong floor and rounded a corner at a near run to find myself nose-to-nose with Coach Guthridge. Once I gathered my wits I said, "I'll bet you can tell me how to find the practice gym." He graciously showed me the way.
My brush with celebrity. A genuine nice guy.
Posted by: Thomas | Apr 02, 2012 at 12:05 PM