Photos: Visit Dean Smith’s hometown of Emporia, Kansas, before Tar Heels play Kansas
By Robert Willett
Dean Smith was a member of the Emporia High School basketball team in 1947. Photograph from the school yearbook.
Robert Willett
rwillett@newsobserver.com
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UNC, Kansas basketball share storied history
North Carolina and Kansas share more college basketball history than perhaps any two other schools. From Dean Smith to Roy Williams, Hall-of-Fame coaches are just part of the reason why.
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Legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith was born and spent most of his youth in Emporia, Kansas.
His childhood home still stands along tree-lined Washington Street, as does the high school he attended a few blocks away.
His father, Alfred Smith, coached the 1934 Emporia High School state championship team.
Emporia High School athletic director Beau Welch in his office with the ‘Dean Smith Traveling Trophy’ on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. The trophy to goes to the winner of the annual Emporia vs. Topeka basketball game in honor of legendary North Carolina basketball coach, an Emporia native. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
North Carolina coach Dean Smith is enshrined in the Emporia High School Hall of Fame. His photo and bio, center, are shown on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Visitors to the school must pass the display when entering the building. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Alfred Smith, Dean Smith’s father, coached the Emporia High School basketball team to the 1934 Kansas State Championship. This collage commemorating that season still hangs in the office at Emporia High School on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Books belonging to Emporia High School athletic director Beau Welch feature volumes by Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
A detail of the ‘Dean Smith Traveling Trophy’ at Emporia High School, photographed on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
A photograph from the 1944 Emporia High yearbook, shows a young Dean Smith, who would’ve been about 12 or 13, holding a glass water jug — perhaps a sign that he might’ve been the Spartans’ waterboy that season. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
The former Emporia High School building, photographed on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Now vacant and under consideration for a hotel and convention center, North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith attended the school and played on the basketball team his father Alfred Smith coached. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
A basketball commemorating Paul Terry, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Terry was the first African American in Kansas to play basketball at the all-white Emporia High School in 1933-34 under coach Alfred Smith, Dean Smith’s father. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Ron Slaymaker, holds a framed photograph of the 1932 Emporia Jr. High basketball team, with head coach Alfred Smith, Dean’s Smith’s father. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Ron Slaymaker, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Slaymaker, age 88, a longtime men’s basketball coach at Emporia State, and a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, he became friends with Dean Smith, and is well-versed in Smith’s legacy in his native Emporia Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
The home where Dean Smith grew up, at 1217 Washington Street, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Children ride their bikes along tree lined Washington Street, in the neighborhood where North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith grew up, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 in Emporia, Kansas. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
Corner of Merchant Street and 6th Avenue in downtown Emporia, Kansas on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
A mural in the alley behind Commercial Street in downtown Emporia, Kansas on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com
North Carolina and Kansas share more college basketball history than perhaps any two other schools. From Dean Smith to Roy Williams, Hall-of-Fame coaches are just part of the reason why.
