UNC Basketball: Top 15 moments under Roy Williams

Tar Heels honor the late Dean Smith by running the “four corners”

by Blake Cockrum

On the Tar Heels’ first offensive possession in a February 21, 2015 game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Roy Williams honored his friend and mentor, the late Dean Smith, by running the four corners offense that the latter made famous during his 36-year head coaching career in Chapel Hill. That night was the team’s first home game since the passing of Smith, who died just six days prior at the age of 83 following a long battle with a progressive neurological disorder.

It was only fitting that the play the Tar Heels ran to honor Smith worked to perfection. After getting the signal from Williams on the bench, UNC point guard Marcus Paige called the play on the court. He took his position at the top of the key, while Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, J.P. Tokoto, and Justin Jackson each went to a separate corner of the half-court. Paige hit Johnson with a quick pass into the painted area after a backdoor cut that resulted in an easy reverse layup.

The four corners offense wasn’t invented by Dean Smith, but he was the most famous coach to use it. And he did so to perfection. So much so that Smith is often credited — or blamed — for the creation of the modern-day shot clock. His mastery of the four corners drove opposing coaches and players crazy, as the point guard dribbled the ball around in the middle of the half-court set with nearly endless options to pass the ball while draining the game clock and not allowing their opponent to get the ball back on offense.

Williams’ tribute to Smith was as beautiful as it was emotional, as he honored the man that he has long regarded as the primary influence on his coaching style and the reason for so much of his own success.